Free 3 Mascara and Murder by Cindy Bell

she realized how terrified he must have been. She was gone, left no note, and he couldn't reach her on the phone. With what he knew about the Windwards' influence, he probably imagined some very terrible things. "I'm sorry,' she said lamely.
    "If it wasn't for Katherine Windward calling to alert us that someone was on their property, I would have had no idea where you were. And then to have to deal with Williams on top of that, and of course you directly ignoring my advice, as usual," he shrugged slightly and laid his fingertips against the table top. "I guess that all makes for a pretty bad morning. Don't you think?"
    "Yes," Bekki admitted reluctantly. "I didn't think…"
    "You didn't think," he agreed and sat back in his chair as he fell into silence.
    "So, what does that mean?" Bekki asked tentatively. "You're not going to arrest me?"
    "Of course I'm not going to arrest you," he repli ed with a slight laugh. He smiled a little as he added. "Although, if you wanted me to…”
    "No!" Bekki said sharply, her mind still reeling from the sudden change in events. She had been so angry at Nick, and now she wasn't sure what to be.
    "Detective Williams is probably working herself into a tizzy out there,” he shrugged. “Let her wind herself up.”
    “A tizzy,” Bekki repeated, and stared at him with amazement. “I can't believe you were playing me this whole time.”
    Nick sat forward and reached across the table to take her hands in his. “And I can't believe that you didn't trust me, when I told you, I care about you first Bekki, I'm a detective second.”
    Bekki smiled at his sweet words.
    “But how are you going to get this past Williams?” she asked with confusion.
    “You let me handle her,” Nick reassured her. “Now, before we go out there, I want you to tell me everything you learned.”
    “Oh, the letter!” Bekki said abruptly. “It's in my purse. I found it in the trash bag. It's a ripped up letter, I'm sure it has something to do with the Windwards. Also, Annabelle admitted she wasn't with her aunt while Lucy was being killed. She was following her uncle, who was having a tryst with a waitress who worked for the caterer.”
    Nick's lips parted with surprise. “You found out all that this morning?” he asked.
    “Everything,” she nodded quickly. “So now it seems Phillip has an alibi, but Katherine doesn't.”
    “Very interesting,” Nick said quietly. Then suddenly he stood up. “Let's go,” he said and reached for her hand. Bekki took it, and braced herself for Detective Williams' reaction.
    When they stepped out of the interrogation room, she was waiting for them. She was determined to make her point this time.
    “Nick why is she out of cuffs?” Detective Williams demanded.
    “I'm not arresting her,” Nick said calmly, and kept Bekki's hand held tightly in his.
    “What?” Detective Williams stared at him with annoyance. “Fine, then I will.”
    “No you won't,” Nick warned as he took a slight step forward in front of Bekki.
    “Nick,” Detective Williams stared at him with complete exasperation. “She has been interfering with this case from the beginning!”
    "And it's a good thing she has," Nick snapped in return, "because you missed a shoeprint in the garden under the window. You missed the fact that Annabelle was lying about Katherine Windward's alibi, and you missed the fact that Phillip Windward was having an affair with one of the waitresses from the catering service."
    With each example he gave her, Detective Williams looked more and more crestfallen.
    "Without Bekki's investigation, this case would be hopeless. Obviously Sammy didn't have anything to do with that young girl's death. But you let the investigation focus only on her. So if it weren't for Bekki interfering, we would be putting an innocent woman in prison. Is that what you want?"
    Detective Williams was so stunned that she could barely form words to speak.
    "But, but, she- the rules say…"
    "The rules are