Dangerous Deception

Lausanne hated the expression on Dom’s face, knowing that any chance she’d had to persuade him of her innocence had now been lost. Damn it, what was wrong with her? Why did she always pick the wrong guy, the guy who’d disappoint her, get her in trouble and break her heart?

“Ms. Raney?” Bain Desmond spoke her name.

She turned to him. “Yes, sir?”

“How do you know Mr. Cash?”

“I met him when I first went to work at Bedell, Inc. He was employed there as a guard.”

“So, you were simply fellow employees and that’s the extent of your relationship with the man?” Dom asked.

Keeping her gaze on the police lieutenant and avoiding direct eye contact with Dom, she replied. “No, not exactly. We went out on a couple of dates, but that was months ago and—”

“You were Mr. Cash’s girlfriend?” Lt. Bain asked.

“No.” Lausanne shook her head. “It was only two dates. That’s all.”

“Were you lovers?” Dom asked.

Cackling laughter drew everyone’s attention away from Lausanne and to Patrice Bedell. Realizing her outburst had removed the spotlight from Lausanne and focused on her, she quieted. Then chuckling softly, she glanced around at the others.

“What’s the matter?” Patrice asked. “Don’t the rest of you find this as amusing as I do? Bobby Jack was bonking this little nothing receptionist while he was having an affair with Audrey, who fell madly in love with him. My bet is that Audrey found out and—”

“I did not have sex with Bobby Jack,” Lausanne swore. “We were not lovers.”

“I think she and Bobby Jack murdered Audrey,” Patrice said.

“I didn’t murder Audrey. And I haven’t dated Bobby Jack in months.” Lausanne wanted to scream, to rant and rave. But most of all, she wanted to kick her own rear end for getting embroiled in such a complicated mess. First of all, she never should have dated Bobby Jack Cash; but the guy had been so persistent, so charming and persuasive. And she’d been lonely. But it had taken her only two dates to realize the guy was bad news, just like all the other men in her life, starting with her own father.

Hindsight was twenty-twenty, of course. If only she’d said “thank you, but no thank you” to Audrey Bedell’s proposition, she wouldn’t be in trouble. Again. No one would be accusing her of murder.

“I want you to arrest this woman for murder!” Patrice got right up in Lausanne’s face. “You might as well admit what you did. You and Bobby Jack Cash. You killed her and we all know it.”

“For once I agree with Patrice,” Cara said. “Make her tell you what they did with poor Audrey.”

“No!” Edward Bedell stepped forward, a haggard expression on his wrinkled face. “We have no proof that this girl did anything other than what she said she did—impersonate Audrey. There’s a good chance that Audrey is in the Caribbean or in Europe, either alone or with Bobby Jack Cash. Until we find Audrey, we can’t be certain of anything.”

Lausanne stared at Mr. Bedell, surprised by his attitude, but thankful that he was at least giving her the benefit of the doubt.

Lieutenant Desmond nodded. “Mr. Bedell is right. We have no hard evidence against Ms. Raney, no proof she’s done anything illegal. And no witnesses to any crime.”

“Are you saying you can’t arrest this woman?” Grayson asked.

“Yes, sir, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” Desmond walked over to Lausanne. “Just because I can’t arrest you doesn’t mean I believe your story. Until Ms. Perkins is found and can corroborate what you’ve told us, you will remain a person of interest to the Chattanooga PD. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.” Lausanne understood all too well. Once the police ran a check on her and discovered that she had served five years in the TPFW, she would become their number one suspect if anything had happened to Audrey Perkins. And she had a really bad feeling in her gut that if Audrey wasn’t already dead, she was in grave danger.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d cooperate by allowing me to ask you a few questions in private,” Desmond said. “Of course, you have every right to call a lawyer—”

“I don’t need a lawyer, do I?”

“No, ma’am,” Lt. Desmond replied. “Not at this time.”

“I’m willing to cooperate…up to a point.”

“Then why don’t we step outside in the hall for a couple of minutes.”

All eyes were on the two of them as Desmond and she exited the room. She caught a glimpse of Dom in her peripheral vision and wondered if his strained expression was concern or condemnation.

Once Lt. Desmond closed the door behind them, he led her a good eight feet down the hall, then paused and confronted her.

“When Dom Shea called me in on this case, he gave me your name and I ran a preliminary check on you and found out that—”

Lausanne finished the sentence. “I served five years in the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville.”

“The reason I didn’t mention this in front of the others is because I didn’t figure that bit of information was anyone’s business. At least not at this point in my investigation.”

Lausanne met the detective’s gaze head-on, trying to figure out if he was on the level or if he was playing her. “Thanks. I guess.”

“If you had anything to do with Audrey Perkins’s disappearance, now would be a good time to tell me. Cooperate and I’ll do what I can to help you.”

“I’ve had all the help I want from men and that includes policemen. But I’ll tell you again, I have no idea where Audrey Perkins is. And keep in mind one thing—you don’t know that anything has happened to her. Not yet.”

“What do you mean not yet?”

“Didn’t Mr. Shea tell you that somebody attacked me in my hotel room in Palm Beach?” She glared at Lt. Desmond. “Somebody who thought I was Audrey tried to slit my throat.”

“Yeah, Shea told me. But for all I know, whoever tried to kill you was after you, not Ms. Perkins.”

“Get real, will you. Why would anybody want to kill me? But I’ll bet you could find quite a few people who might want Audrey dead.” Lausanne glanced over her shoulder and nodded toward the closed living room door down the hall. “Starting with some people in that room.”

“What happened to you in Palm Beach could have been an attempted robbery.”

“I don’t think so. This guy could have stolen everything in my suite and been gone before I returned,” Lausanne said. “No, I’m pretty sure he was waiting for me. He intended to kill me.”

Lt. Desmond studied Lausanne for a couple of seconds, then grunted. “Look, I don’t need to tell you not to leave town, do I?”

“The only place I’m going is to my apartment in East Brainerd,” she told him. “Then first thing tomorrow, I’ll be job hunting.” She could live for quite a while on the fifty grand she’d stashed away in the bank, but she didn’t want to waste it on living expenses. So, that meant finding another job ASAP.

“I’ll have Sergeant Swain take you home.”

“I can call a cab.” But before she left, she intended to get her suitcases out of Dom’s car. Audrey Perkins had told her that whatever she bought during her all-expenses-paid vacation, she could keep. She wasn’t about to hand over thousands of dollars in clothes and jewelry and…She’d bought several things that she thought any ten-year-old girl might like. Things she hoped to somehow give her daughter as gifts. But first, she had to find her child.

“Just wait around for a few minutes, okay?” Lt. Desmond told her.

She shrugged.

“After I talk to Mr. Bedell, I’ll probably have a few more questions for you.”