Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 105921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
West gave my feet a sympathetic look. "And you?"
I filled in my part, starting with Vanessa accosting me on the path, back by the cottages. I didn't leave anything out, knowing that keeping things from West was the best way to find myself in jail, even with Scarlett as my alibi.
West made notes on his pad. Finishing, he attached the pen to the binding of the pad and shoved it into his pocket. Looking at Scarlett, he said, "You're not a guest at the Inn."
"No." Scarlett's eyes flicked to me then away, a faint flush on her cheeks. Good, she should be embarrassed.
"Where are you staying?" West asked.
She shifted from one foot to another, and I had the distinct impression she was trying not to look back at the path to the cottages. "I just got into town. I haven't—"
I wasn't taking any chances that this situation was going to spin further out of my control. "West, can I borrow those?" I inclined my head at the shiny metal handcuffs clipped to his belt. Scarlett missed the gesture, her eyes drifting between the path to the cottages and the officers surrounding Vanessa's body.
West gave me a long look before tilting his head to one side and looking at the sky as if seeking counsel from someone far above us. He appeared to come to a decision. Unclipping his cuffs from his duty belt, he tossed them to me. My fingers closed around them in mid-air.
Scarlett didn't have time to register what was coming. Flipping the cuffs over, my hand shot out to grab her arm. I slapped one side of the cuffs over her wrist and the other over my own. Holding out my free hand, I said to West, "Key?"
With a rueful smile, he dropped the key in my hand. Scarlett looked between the two of us, her green eyes wide with shock and the beginnings of what I suspected would be an impressive display of temper.
"Are you kidding me?" She yanked at her arm. "You can't let him do this!"
West gave her a level look. "Would you prefer I book you for trespassing?"
Scarlett's face drained of color. This time, she couldn't stop her eyes from flicking back to the cottages. Why? What was back there? Shaking her head, sending her hair flying, she said, "No. No, you can't."
West let out a sigh. "I'll be straight with you, Miss Hall. I can't have you wandering off until we have a better idea of what's going on here. And I don't have enough people to assign one to guarantee your safety."
"My safety? I'm not the one who was shot." She gave another yank to her wrist and shot me a glare.
"No," West agreed, "but you were only feet away, and you two were the last to see her alive. Maybe you already told me everything you know—"
"I did!"
"And maybe the killer thinks you saw something. Something you might remember later. Do you really want to be on your own out there?" We watched Scarlett absorb his words, her face growing paler than I thought possible. I started to think she might faint.
West narrowed his eyes on me. "Are you going to take her back to the Manor?"
"I'm not letting her out of my sight until we know what the fuck is going on here."
Nodding down at our cuffed hands, West said, "I'm letting you get away with this because I'm short-staffed and it's easier all around if she's somewhere safe. Not many places around here safer than the Manor. I'll be checking in with both of you. I'm assuming she won't have any complaints."
I didn't bother to answer. West had known me all my life. He knew I wasn't going to hurt Scarlett. I just wasn't going to let her go. I didn't believe the bullshit story she'd given West. The Inn was expensive, but scoping out the place to protect her budget wasn't the reason she'd been lurking in the gardens.
Scarlett Hall was up to something. Something that involved my inn. I wasn't going to let her go anywhere until I knew what.
West glanced back at the Inn. "The coroner is here. I need to focus on the scene and the body. You closed the gardens?" I nodded. "Good. Get her out of here and stick close to the Manor. See if Royal can cover the Inn for a day or two. I want you two out of sight for now."
He glanced up at the windows to all those guest rooms, each with a perfect view of the gardens, then back to Vanessa's body in the bushes. "I don't like the way this lines up." A pointed look at Scarlett. "If she hadn't been here—"
"I know." I wasn't surprised West had come to the same conclusion I had. If Scarlett hadn't been in the gardens to see Vanessa storm off, those handcuffs would be on my wrists, and I'd be headed to a cell.