Melting Point Read online

  For starters, McClain, get busy on the washer, his inner voice instructed.

  He set down his tools and slid off his lined uniform jacket, walking into the kitchen to drape it over the back of a dining room chair. He let out a ragged breath, trying to stem the raging current of lust in his blood. Unbuttoning his cuffs, he rolled back the sleeves of his white dress shirt as he returned to Kiley.

  She stood, her gaze flicking over him. “I don’t want you to mess up your clothes.”

  “They’ll be fine.” Noticing a mop against the opposite wall, he moved across the damp tiles and checked behind the machine. Leaning over, he lifted the short hose that connected the water supply to the washer and examined it. “Yeah, there’s a hole here.”

  “Is it the fill hose? Like you suspected?” she asked from beside him.

  Surprised at how close she was, he stepped to the side. “Yeah. It puts water into your washer.”

  “But because of the hole, it wasn’t reaching the machine?”

  “Right. Just the floor.”

  “You figured that out really fast.” Admiration gleamed in her eyes.

  “It’s happened to my mom a couple of times.”

  Kiley nodded, her gaze tracking over him. There was no heat in her eyes, just thoughtful study, but Collier’s entire body locked up. What was going on with her?

  “So now what?” she asked.

  “I don’t recommend patching it because of the pressure buildup when the water runs through. I can get you a hose, tonight if you need it.”

  “No, there’s nothing I absolutely have to wash tonight.”

  “Okay. I’ll pick one up in the morning and stop on the way to work to put it on.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “I’m sure.” She was still studying him, and he ran a hand across the taut muscles in his nape.

  “It’s lucky for me you know this stuff, McClain.” She eyed him curiously, as if she were dissecting him. “I was a little rattled.”

  “I noticed.” He grinned.

  “Have you eaten yet?”

  “No.”

  “I’ve got grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Do you like that?”

  “You don’t have to feed me.”

  “Sure I do. I might need you again sometime.”

  He wished he could decipher that tone in her voice. It wasn’t flirty exactly.

  “Besides, you still have to tell me about Vail, and there’s no reason you can’t do that while we eat. If you hate grilled cheese, I can call out for pizza or Chinese food or whatever you want.”

  “The sandwich is fine.”

  “Good. Let me start the soup.”

  It took her only a moment to open three cans and pour the contents into a pot on the stove. She walked around him and into the hall. “I’m going to change clothes. I’ll be right back.”

  “Do you want me to do anything in the kitchen?”

  “No. Just make yourself at home.”

  Habit had him checking to make sure all the stove’s burners were off except the one being used, then he walked through a doorway that led into the living room he’d seen upon entering the house.

  Her chestnut leather sofa and two oversize chairs looked comfortable. Framed pictures sat atop a sofa table along one wall and the mantel. He recognized her sister in several. His gaze lingered on a black-and-white one of her and Kiley together. The photo next to it was of them on either side of an older woman. Their mom?

  “Want something to drink?”

  He looked over his shoulder, saw her in the doorway he’d just walked through. She had put on socks and changed into baggy gray flannel pants and a tight red tank under an unzipped gray sweatshirt cardigan. “Iced tea, if you have it.”

  She nodded, her gaze speculative.

  “Nice pictures.”

  “Thanks. That’s my mom with Kristin and me.”

  “Pretty lady.” He glanced back at the photo. “You both favor her.”

  “Thanks.” Faint color crested her cheeks. “I’ll start on the sandwiches.”

  While she did that, he returned to the washing machine and unhooked the fill hose. He could hear her moving around on the other side of the wall, smell the buttery scent of toasting bread. Carrying the hose to his tackle box, he knelt to put it inside, wincing when his scraped knee banged the floor. He glanced at Kiley over by the stove. “I’ll take this to the hardware store when I go. Just to make sure I get the right fittings.”

  “I really appreciate your help, Collier.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you’re such a handyman, since you’re doing all the work on your house.” She carried two bowls of steaming soup to the small dining room table. “Dinner’s ready.”

  He walked into the kitchen and past the table to the sink to wash his hands. A couple of sandwiches were stacked on the plate in front of the chair where she indicated he should sit.

  “Smells good,” he said as he slid into his seat.

  “I didn’t burn anything, so I’m optimistic. This is about the extent of my culinary talent.”

  “All I can do are eggs and pancakes.”

  She grinned, starting on her soup. They ate in silence for a few minutes. A couple of times he caught her looking at him with hot, curious eyes. Not just his face, but his mouth. Whatever was going on with her was driving him crazy. He tried his darnedest to keep his mind on the case, on his food, on the washing machine. Anything but her lips. Or the sweet flesh hidden beneath those sweats.

  “Did you find the woman you were looking for today? Sherry Vail’s neighbor?”

  “Yeah. We may have caught a break.”

  “Really?” She rose, silently offering him more soup, and he nodded. “What exactly made you zero in on her?”

  “A notation made in Vail’s file by an OSBI agent. After she applied to firefighter school, they interviewed her references and acquaintances. Written next to the neighbor’s name in quotes was the sentence, ‘I’m impressed with the way Sherry turned out after what happened to her mother.’ I figured we’d better find out what that meant.”

  As Kiley dished more soup into his bowl, Collier found his gaze wandering over her, lingering on her butt. He forced his attention to the information he’d gotten. “The woman I spoke to used to live in Oklahoma City, but now she’s in Minco. She’s been married and divorced three times since she was the Vails’ next-door neighbor, so it took me nearly all day to track her down. Sherry’s dad died when she was ten, and after about five years, her mom started dating someone. Lisa Embry’s dad.”

  Kiley’s mouth fell open as she slid into her seat. “You are kidding! How’d they meet?”

  “Remember that Sherry said she and Lisa went to the same high school?” At her nod, he continued, “The neighbor wasn’t sure how their parents hooked up, but she thought it was at a football game.”

  “Vail mentioned going to high school with Lisa as if she barely knew her.”

  “We were right about her holding something back.”

  “Something big.”

  He grinned at the excitement in her eyes. He’d felt the same rush upon discovering Vail’s very personal connection to their third victim. “There’s more.”

  Kiley pushed her bowl out of the way and leaned toward him, drawing one leg up under her. “Tell me.”

  “Sherry’s and Lisa’s parents became engaged, but to hear this woman tell it, Lisa hated Sherry’s mom.” Collier found his gaze locked on Kiley’s mouth and looked away. “Lisa threw fits about the relationship on a regular basis and finally ran away. Her dad broke up with Vail’s mother, and when he did, she committed suicide.”

  Kiley’s eyes widened. “So Sherry Vail might blame Lisa for her mother’s death.”

  “Wouldn’t be a stretch to think so.”

  Looking thoughtful, Kiley tapped a finger on the table. “And maybe Sherry finally starts to recover from that, joins the fire department and here
comes Lisa, transferring into the same station house. Now she’s right in Sherry’s face, bringing it all back.”

  Collier pushed his empty plate and bowl aside, stretching out in his chair and linking his hands behind his head. “And if Vail did murder the three male firefighters, maybe she thought she should take care of Lisa at the same time.”

  “She didn’t set a fire with Lisa, just shot her in her own garage,” Kiley mused. “So she could watch Lisa die?”

  “Maybe. I’d think someone with a grudge like that would want to see their victim suffer.”

  “So now we know Vail has motive to kill all four victims.”

  “Just like Alan Embry.” Collier’s mind went back to his and Kiley’s last visit with Alan Embry.

  When that scumbag had put his hands on Kiley, Collier had lost it. Some protective instinct had unexpectedly exploded inside him. He wanted to chalk it up to her being his partner, but that wasn’t the whole reason. He’d reacted as if she belonged to him, and she didn’t. Besides, the woman carried a gun, for crying out loud. She knew how to protect herself. Especially from guys like him.

  Kiley pushed her hair over her shoulders. “Alan had clear motive to kill Lisa and Lazano, but what about Miller and Huffman?”

  “Maybe he killed the other two victims so it would look like there’s a connection when there really isn’t.”

  “I think we need to go see Vail and find out why she kept silent about having more of a connection to Lisa than she led us to believe.”

  “We’ve definitely got a reason to look even harder at her now.”

  “Do you think it’s too late to go tonight?”

  “Let’s give it a shot.”

  “I’ll change clothes.” She rose and started past him. “Thanks again, Collier. I really appreciate you looking at my washing machine. Call me if you ever need help with…I don’t know. Something besides a washer.”

  Two days ago he would’ve told her to help him by sitting in his lap and letting him get her naked. But not now. Not after hearing about her father, not after seeing that raw vulnerability on her face. He’d realized that as he sat here with her.

  She’d said he was wrong for her and she was right. He was exactly the no-strings, hit-and-run kind of guy that she avoided.

  The deep hurt in her eyes when she’d told him about her father had hollowed out Collier’s gut. He never wanted to be responsible for putting such a look on her face. Even if it killed him, he would try to respect the line she’d drawn between them.

  Kiley had meant every word she’d said to Collier about not getting involved, so why couldn’t she stop thinking about it? His mouth on her skin, his hands on her skin. Him on her skin. Whatever smarts she’d prided herself on, where Collier McClain was concerned, had been drowned by hormones and lust. She was much too aware of his lean, rangy body, the faint flesh-warmed scent of his aftershave.

  Forty-five minutes after leaving her house, she and Collier were in a small boxy room at the police station. Kiley dragged her thoughts from Mr. July and focused on the suspect she was about to interview. Sherry Vail had refused to speak with them at her house, so Kiley had instructed the ex-firefighter to call her lawyer and meet them at the police department.

  Collier had switched on the tape recorder and taken a place in the chair at the end of the short, rectangular table. Sherry and her attorney, Raye Ballinger, sat to his right along one side. Standing a couple of feet to Collier’s left, Kiley had just finished reading the suspect her rights. She and Collier had agreed on the way over that she would start the interview, then they would play off each other.

  “Let’s go over what we’ve discussed before, Sherry, so we can get it on record.”

  Vail shot a sharp-eyed look at her attorney, who nodded. Sherry’s face was stoic, but the death grip she had on the table’s edge told Kiley that the woman was jittery. She flipped open her notebook. “When Gary Miller was murdered on October first, you were where?”

  Vail opened the day planner her attorney had advised her to bring and turned a few pages. “Calling on customers in Arkansas.”

  “Did you spend the night there?”

  “Yes. I was in Little Rock that night and the next. I spent the two previous nights in Fayetteville.”

  Collier kept his manner relaxed. “What about the night of Rex Huffman’s murder, November fourth?”

  Sherry consulted her calendar again. “At a trade conference in Houston.”

  Kiley placed her hands on the table and leaned down, watching the woman carefully. “We have a witness who saw you at the motel where Huffman was murdered.”

  “Then your witness is lying! I wasn’t even in town, and I have the stub from my plane ticket to prove it.”

  Kiley gave her a steely-eyed look. She and Collier really didn’t have a witness, and from the way Vail had responded, Kiley thought the woman was telling the truth. “What about the night of Lisa Embry’s murder? December fifth?”

  “I was in town. At home.”

  Collier drummed his fingers on the table. “Can anybody verify that?”

  “I wasn’t with anyone—wait. I may have a receipt.” She pulled a manila file folder from her purse and began to flip through it. “I keep copies of the receipts I turn in with my expense report.”

  In their last interview with her, they’d questioned Sherry’s whereabouts on the night of Lisa’s murder without getting an answer. Raye must’ve told her client to bring any evidence she could find if it would help prove where she’d been.

  “Here it is. A receipt for gas dated December fifth. At 9:42 p.m.”

  So what if Sherry’s alibis were solid? They only meant she hadn’t been at the scene, not that she hadn’t murdered Lisa or the others. She could’ve hired someone to pull the trigger. Still, Kiley wanted things done by the book, and that meant getting Vail’s alibis out of her own mouth, for the record. “What about January second? Ten days ago. The night of Lazano’s murder?”

  “She was in Denver, calling on customers,” Raye said coolly. “The Adam’s Mark has a record of her stay.”

  Collier drummed his fingers on the table. “Sherry, have you ever been to the Clear Lake Motel on the outskirts of Presley?”

  “No.”

  “Huffman was spotted with a blond woman before he was found murdered there.”

  Sherry looked full at him. “It wasn’t me.”

  Kiley drew the woman’s attention back to her. “Did you ever meet Rex anywhere outside of work? Maybe to tell him to back off?”

  “No. The jerk would’ve thought I had changed my mind about dating him.”

  “Do you own a gun?”

  “No.”

  “Know anything about them?”

  “I know what they look like. That’s it.”

  “You have motive, Sherry.” Collier’s voice hardened. “To kill all three male victims.”

  She stared at him in stony silence.

  For someone who didn’t interrogate that much, Kiley thought Collier was good at it. She leaned against the wall, eyeing Vail, deliberately making her tone skeptical. “You claimed one of those men sexually harassed you.”

  “He did!”

  “And you said the other two men threatened you because of the complaint you filed against their friend. You lost a job you love because of them.”

  “You filed a complaint against Huffman, but that didn’t stop him.” Collier leveled his gaze on the blonde. “You’re not the type to sit back and put up with something like that. You would take matters into your own hands.”

  “Y’all are so far off.” Raye shook her head, light bouncing off her gold earrings. With her tawny hair in an elegant twist and her tailored black suit, she looked like a young Grace Kelly. “Yes, she took action, but it was appropriate. She went through the channels. That’s on record. You two are just fishing. You have another homicide, the Embry woman, and my client had no reason to hurt her.”

  “Actually, she did.” Kiley loved springing stuff lik
e this on suspects, but Collier had been the one to learn the information. He should be the one to drop the bombshell. She urged him on with a look.

  “We know about your mother’s suicide,” he said baldly.

  Sherry blanched. Kiley studied her as Collier continued.

  “We know your connection to Lisa Embry is much more personal than you led us to believe.”

  The woman’s skin took on a waxy sheen.

  “Your mother was dating Lisa’s father and he broke things off with her because Lisa didn’t like her. That’s when she killed herself.”

  “Shut up!” A dull flush spread across Sherry’s face.

  Kiley kept up the pressure. “You and Lisa were nearly stepsisters.”

  “Even if our parents had gotten married, I wouldn’t have claimed Lisa Embry as my stepsister. As my anything,” the woman spat out. “I hated her!”

  “And you blame her for your mom’s suicide, don’t you?”

  “She was responsible for it!”

  Raye put a calming hand on her client’s arm, but Sherry shook it off.

  “I actually thought I’d made progress, learning to live with what my mom did without feeling guilty that I hadn’t seen what she planned to do, that I couldn’t stop her.” Her voice rose. “Then here comes Lisa, right into my station house. I tried to keep out of her way, but she was always around, always in my face. One time she tried to apologize, as if she meant it!”

  “Maybe she did,” Collier said.

  “No, she didn’t!” Sherry screamed. “She only did that to bring up the pain of my mom’s death.”

  “And you wanted to hurt her back.” He rose, towering over her. “So you killed her.”

  She drew up short. “No,” she said shakily. “No, I didn’t.”

  Kiley leaned down to Sherry’s eye level. “We have a woman willing to testify about how upset you were with Lisa.”

  “It doesn’t prove I killed her. Or anyone else,” she added quickly.

  “You talked about getting back at her.”

  “I was seventeen!”

  “Maybe you tried to get past it and couldn’t,” Kiley mused. “Maybe you finally saw a chance to make her pay.”

  “And it’s not only Lisa’s murder you should be concerned about,” Collier put in tersely. “Now we know you have motive for all four murders, Sherry. Four. That looks bad.”