Free Deadly Valentine (Special Releases) by B. J. Daniels Page B

swallow.
    ‘‘Maybe...she...meant...to...kill...herself.’’
    ‘‘Or maybe,’’ Tempest said, ‘‘Peggy was worried you might try to off her. The insurance money would make you look awfully suspicious. So would the date book in her apartment and the Valentine that was found clutched in her hand in your foyer.’’
    It was obvious that this was the first Oliver had heard about the Valentine.
    ‘‘Peggy had a valentine in her hand for you,’’ Tempest said.
    ‘‘Peggy knew I loved her. We were going to get married.’’ He sounded shaken and not at all sure.
    ‘‘What will you do now?’’ Tempest asked.
    Oliver looked confused again.
    ‘‘About leaving Mitzy?’’ she asked.
    ‘‘I don’t know.’’ He seemed to give it some thought. ‘‘I guess I won’t have to do anything if she’s arrested for murder.’’ The thought didn’t sound like a new one.
    ‘‘How would that make you feel, knowing that Mitzy killed the woman you loved?’’ Jack asked.
    Oliver seemed at a loss for words.
    ‘‘You never planned to marry Peggy, did you?’’ Jack snapped. ‘‘You planned to just take off once you got your money. You weren’t just running out on Mitzy. You were going to run out on Peggy, too.’’
    ‘‘No.’’ The word had no conviction in it.
    ‘‘You needed a clean break and you didn’t want to have to pay anymore,’’ Jack continued. ‘‘So you killed Peggy and now you’re hoping to frame Mitzy for the murder.’’
    ‘‘You’re wrong,’’ Oliver pleaded. ‘‘You just want to see me fry for this. That would make you both happy, wouldn’t it?’’ He was looking at Tempest, looking afraid of her. And she was looking at him as if seeing him fry would definitely make her day.
    Jack stared at the two of them for a moment, feeling incredibly tired. ‘‘Don’t leave town,’’ he said with a sigh as he snapped off the recorder and opened the interrogation room door to leave.
    ‘‘ I’m not going anywhere,’’ Oliver said and was still looking at Tempest, implying maybe that she was going somewhere when Jack looked back at them.
    He could hear Tempest coming behind him as he left the room. Once in his office, he turned to face her. ‘‘What’s with you and Oliver?’’ he demanded.
    She raised a brow, either at his tone or his question.
    ‘‘He thinks we’re both out to get him. I have my own reasons for disliking the ass, but what are yours?’’
    ‘‘My own and nothing to do with this case.’’ She started to turn to leave, but he grabbed her arm. She froze and he quickly let go.
    ‘‘You’re not making this any easier,’’ he said with a sigh.
    ‘‘Oh, is that my job, to make things easier for you?’’ she asked.
    They stood looking at each other.
    ‘‘What do you want from me?’’ he demanded. ‘‘I’m sorry about the way I treated you in high school, I’m sorry I resented it when you tried to butt into my life with Frannie, all right?’’ Just saying her name made it feel as if she’d materialized and now stood with them, a small, dark, troubled apparition, the kind of woman in life who just naturally made a man like him protective of her.
    ‘‘I was trying to help Frannie.’’
    ‘‘Come on, you thought she made a mistake marrying me,’’ he said.
    ‘‘Marriage wasn’t the answer to the problem,’’ she snapped. ‘‘You just had to play the big man taking care of the little woman. You were so damned sure that by whisking her away from here, that you could save her. You were so sure that your love was enough that she couldn’t possibly need for anything else.’’
    Her words hit like stones, too many of them striking their mark.
    Tempest turned and started to leave his office, but stopped and swung back around to face him. ‘‘I loved Frannie, too,’’ she said, tears in her eyes. ‘‘You weren’t the only one who tried to save her. We just didn’t know what the hell we were trying to save her