Three
Matt opened his mouth to answer Maggie’s question when a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. The three of them turned just as it was opened.
A young woman, maybe early twenties, flushed at the sight of them.
“Oh, I—I’m sorry,” she said hurriedly, eyes bouncing across each of their faces. “The nurse said you were awake and we could come back.”
No sooner than she’d said the word we did a boy with round glasses pop his head around her hip. His gaze went straight to Maggie’s.
Out of Matt’s periphery he saw her entire demeanor change.
“Well, hey there, little dude,” she exclaimed, voice softening.
The boy, perhaps five or six, beamed. Then, just as quickly, he shrank back and looked up at the men. He was shy.
“It’s okay,” Maggie coaxed. “These are Mommy’s friends.”
Mommy? Matt thought, surprised. He hadn’t known she had a kid.
“We can come back,” the younger woman blurted out, face now completely red. Her gaze shifted to Maggie again and then dropped down to what must have been her wrist cuffed to the railing. “I—I can skip class today,” she offered.
Matt took a step to his right until he was touching the bed. It effectively cut off everyone’s view of the cuffs.
Billy cleared his throat.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” he said, stepping forward with his hand outstretched. He moved into the woman’s and child’s sightlines, also blocking Maggie from view. “I’m Sheriff Billy Reed.”
Matt turned, pulling his handcuff key out. Maggie remained silent as she watched him uncuff her as quietly as he could. She met his gaze and gave one small nod.
A silent thank-you.
It, like the boy, caught him off guard.
He returned it with a nod of his own.
Like she said, he might have issues with her, but he wasn’t heartless. The boy was probably already freaked out that his mother was in the hospital.
But where was his dad?
Matt turned back to the sheriff and his conversation, trying to move past thoughts of Maggie’s love life. He had bigger things to worry about.
“I’m Larissa. I babysit Cody occasionally.”
“So then, you must be Cody,” Billy said. Matt watched him kneel down in front of the boy. He nodded. “And I’m guessing you are ready to hang out with your mom for a bit.” Again the boy nodded. “Well, why don’t I make you a deal? You go grab a quick hug from her and then you can walk with me to the vending machine down the hall for an early-morning candy bar while my friend Matt finishes talking to your mom.” Matt didn’t have to be next to Cody to see his face light up at the mention of a candy bar. Billy turned to Maggie. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Only if you save half of it for me,” she said with a grin. Another expression Matt wasn’t used to seeing from the woman.
Cody nodded, raced forward and jumped on the bed for a hug. Maggie winced but kept smiling. Even with the meds she was being fed there must have still been some pain from the hit that had knocked her out. She returned the hug with a few words in the boy’s ear Matt couldn’t hear. He giggled and then was off with the sheriff. Larissa followed, still flushed.
“If you needed a reason to believe I didn’t attack Dwayne, then that boy is it,” Maggie started. “I don’t need to be able to remember the last day to tell you with certainty that I wouldn’t jeopardize his life by suddenly being a violent and callous woman.”
“Then give me a reason why you were at Dwayne’s,” Matt said. “Because I can’t accept that everything that happened in the last day came out of nowhere. If you weren’t friendly with the man, then you must have been talking to him about something.”
That crease between Maggie’s eyebrows came back in force. Her eyes unfocused and her normally plump lips thinned. She was thinking. About what, though, he’d pay good money to be in on.
“I have had no reason to talk to Dwayne in years,” she finally said. “Whatever the reason was, it must have happened yesterday.” Matt was about to open his mouth and vent his frustration when Maggie continued. This time, however, there was a different tone to her words. “But the last time I talked to him, years ago...”
Her gaze slid up to his. Slow. Almost sheepish.
Matt didn’t have to be a detective to figure out what she was trying to say.
“The last time you talked to him was after my wife died,” he inserted. Even as he said it the old ache of loss sounded in the distance. “And then yesterday you tried to tell me you could prove Erin’s death wasn’t an accident.”
He read surprise clearly on the woman’s face. If she was faking it, she was doing a damned good job.
“Let me guess, another thing you don’t remember.”
Maggie shook her head.
“No but yes,” she said. “I was looking into the accident again but I definitely didn’t have any proof.”
Maggie sat up straighter. Again her gaze found his. Even with her makeup washed off, there was an almost-open kind of beauty about her. Like she had nothing to hide. But he knew better. Not only did she have something to hide, she’d also hidden it well from him for years.
“Matt,” she started, unblinking. “I know you have a hard time believing this but I think I might have figured out who killed your wife.”
* * *
“I’M GOING TO release you from custody for a few different reasons and with a condition or two.”
Sheriff Reed had his arms crossed over his chest but didn’t look like he was being pained to talk to her. Unlike the detective. After she’d dropped her bombshell, she’d more than expected him to give her a weighty, anger-filled lecture. Instead, he’d excused himself and gone into the hallway. Now she was staring at the sheriff, wondering if he knew what she’d admitted to the detective.
“Okay, I’m listening,” she added when she realized Sheriff Reed wanted a confirmation.
He held up his index finger and ticked off his points as he made them.
“One, where you were struck with the baseball bat suggests that someone swung and hit you from behind.” He held up his other hand to stop her questions and continued, “Based on the angle of the wound, it would have been nearly impossible for you to have been able to hit that spot with enough force to knock yourself out cold. Which means we’re looking for a third person who was in that house. Detective Ansler is on scene and CSU will get back to us when they find something. For all we know you walked in on a robbery in progress. Two, your doctor has cleared you health-wise so I don’t see a reason to force you to stay in one of these rooms when I know exactly where you live. And some of your neighbors, too. Including a very observant Deputy Carrington.” There was a warning beneath the words. Or maybe it was a promise. It was the sheriff’s way of flexing his connection muscles.
Basically he was saying, “Don’t try to run or do anything stupid because I have eyes and ears almost everywhere in town.”
But Maggie had no reason to run. However, doing something stupid was an entirely different ballgame. She preferred the phrase “risk taking.”
“Three,” he continued, holding up three fingers. “As much as I dislike the digging that you’ve done into the life and pain of Detective Walker, it’s highly likely that the circumstances surrounding your and Dwayne’s attack could be related to you digging into Erin’s death and not just random. That’s too much of a coincidence for me to ignore. I want to see what information