Cold Case Witness

“It’s late anyway.” It was a lame excuse to get her out of his house, hopefully out of his head, but it was all he had.

Gemma’s smile lifted slightly. “So you don’t like to be on the other end of the questions. Interesting, I’ll remember that.”

The hint of teasing in her tone, the friendliness there, made it even harder not to trust her. Shouldn’t he tell her what Shiloh had discovered, or rather, not discovered? Really, out of everyone she had the most right to know.

Then Matt pictured Lieutenant Davies, the smug smile that would be on the other man’s face if the chief took this case from Matt and gave it to him. He couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t get stuck working patrol for the rest of his life. Matt was more than just a guy filling a uniform, driving a car with lights and sirens and making sure no one vandalized a construction site.

He was a cop down to his core. An investigator. Someone capable of helping bring justice when it mattered.

He just needed everyone else to see it, too, needed Treasure Point to see him for something other than his father’s son. This was his only chance at proving himself.

And even though he’d been wrestling with attraction only minutes before, what Matt felt now was different. Beautiful as she was, all he could see in Gemma at this moment was her potential to destroy everything he’d worked for.

When he didn’t respond to her, he saw her face fall slightly. With the night she’d had, he felt a hint of guilt for his sudden lack of friendliness, but he pushed it away. “I suppose you’re right. I’m not big into questions.” He made a show of glancing at his watch, not noticing what it said. “But it’s getting late. You’d better head home.”

She nodded. “Claire is probably worried even though I told her I was fine.”

“Was that her who texted earlier?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t check.” Gemma slipped her phone out of her purse and read the message.

Then dropped it into her lap.

“Your sister? Everything okay?”

She just shook her head. He noticed her hands were shaking as she reached to pick the phone up, then handed it to him.

He took it from her, a frown already spreading across his own face. For someone who’d been so brave all day, the thought that a text could scare her this badly...

Then he read it.

He doesn’t believe you. None of them do. I win.

FOUR (#ulink_91dbfbd3-5ffb-5bfd-a601-66d69bce86bd)

Gemma held her hands together in front of her, tight, wishing she had something else she could squeeze besides her own fingers.

How could he have gotten her cell phone number?

She glanced up at Matt, noting the tightness of his jaw. He was asking the same questions she was, but not out loud. Gemma almost wished she could talk to him, but...what had the message meant? He still didn’t believe her?

She wanted to cry. Instead, she swallowed hard and made herself ask the only question that would fully form. “What now?”

“We investigate more thoroughly.”

“Right. But I mean now. Am I in danger? Is he...” Her gaze moved toward the solid wood door. It looked secure, made her feel safely closed in from the night outside. But one good shot to the knob...

Matt was already pulling out his own phone. It looked as if he had a plan. “I’m going to call Clay.”

“Clay?”

“Officer Clay Hitchcock. We patrol together sometimes and he has a little fishing cabin near here where he spends all his free time. He can help me secure this area and make sure it’s reasonably safe. Then we can get you home.” He held the phone up to his ear and stepped away from Gemma. Her shoulders tensed. Being near Matt O’Dell made her feel safe. Who would have thought?

She wanted to let her mind go back to high school, think about the friendship she might have had with Matt if she’d been brave enough to strike up a conversation with someone so opposite of her, but she could think of nothing but the text message, and the impending sense of danger that pressed in on her like a tangible thing.

Gemma swallowed hard, feeling the beginnings of a panic attack. Was it too late to shake it? Maybe if she could have a change of scenery... Hands shaking, heart racing, Gemma wanted to run, but didn’t know where she’d go. And it obviously wasn’t safe for her, not anywhere.

Gemma swallowed hard, willed herself to take deeper breaths.

He doesn’t believe you...

Did the killer know she was at his house? The first time she’d read the words, she’d assumed the attacker knew Matt was the officer on the case. Scary enough. But what if her stalker had actually followed her, knew where she was?

She sank a little deeper into the chair, as though somehow that could protect her from whatever evil might lurk outside in the darkness.

“I think he’s just lent some credibility to your claim that this is all related to what happened ten years ago.”

Matt’s deep voice seemed deeper in the tension. Gemma turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“Until now, we just had suspicions. You may have believed someone was after you because of what happened back then, but it was hard to substantiate. His bragging about that, ironically enough, is what’s going to make people believe you.”

She narrowed her eyes in Matt’s direction. “He was right?”

Their gaze had no sooner connected than Gemma jerked hers away, tried to school her features again. So she was hurt. Fine. She didn’t have to show that to Matt, did she? Give him the power to hurt her more?

“Not what I meant.”

“It’s what you said.”

Understanding dawned as she searched for some kind of indication that Matt was like the other officers, that he didn’t believe her side of the story, either. She finally landed on it. Those minutes she’d been alone in the car, when he’d talked to Shiloh. His attitude toward her had changed after that. Shiloh must have told him something that made him doubt her story.

Just like the text had said.

Gemma did her best to leave her face expressionless, but somewhere in her heart, she could feel the battle going on between too many emotions to name. She couldn’t let him see that.

She stood and walked away from him, momentarily forgetting her fear until she heard a car outside. Gemma jumped away from the window.

“Relax. It’s probably Clay.”

She nodded wordlessly and sat back down.

Matt reached to open the door. “We’re going to have to talk about this later. About me believing you and about that look on your face.”

He could read her so easily?

* * *

Matt didn’t feel comfortable leaving Gemma alone, even for a few minutes. This case was growing messier by the minute, and it looked as though the star witness in the stolen antiques trial from a decade ago might be poised to become the only witness in a murder case.