In Spotlight and Shadow by Rachel Scott McDaniel

Author:Rachel Scott McDaniel [McDaniel, Rachel Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781636094779
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2022-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Since the crowd had gathered in the front of the police station, Sterling drove his car to the other side of the building, where I waited for him at a rear exit. I quickly rushed inside the Model-T and ducked.

My skin tingled as if Sergeant Hamilton’s accusing stares left an itchy residue. My eardrums rattled by the startling shouts of the horde. And currently, my nose ached from being flattened against my knees as I hid from view. Yet it was the light pressure of Sterling’s large hand on my back that finally cracked my defenses.

The courage and grit I possessed in the interrogation room faded with every pinched breath. I knew the reality of the past three hours would sink in, but I wished it wouldn’t hit with Sterling right beside me.

“You can sit up now.” His voice was achingly gentle. “It’s all clear.”

But was it? We might have escaped the pressing throng, but what happened next? I straightened, and Sterling’s hand returned to the gear shift. The sergeant hadn’t seemed convinced of my innocence. Would the man push for my arrest?

The Mirage hadn’t left a trace for all those crimes, and the first piece of evidence to turn up turned up in my black clutch. What if I got convicted and sentenced to jail? My lungs squeezed all air from my chest, and I forced my blurry gaze out the window, tears threatening.

Sterling shifted beside me. “You were brave back there.” His fingers pressed something into my palm. His handkerchief. “But you don’t have to be brave with me.”

I dabbed my eyes, but as one tear dried, another took its place. “I didn’t steal that bracelet.” I twisted on the bench, angling toward him, taking in his familiar profile. “Someone’s framing me, Sterling.”

“I know.”

Those two words impacted me more than a thousand. “Thank you.” My voice broke on a sob, and I clutched his arm, burying my face in his sleeve. “I need someone to believe me.”

And not just someone. Him. I couldn’t bear it if he thought me capable of those thefts.

Realizing I was still accosting his right limb, I straightened. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”

“It’s okay.” He flicked me a concerned glance. “If you need a shoulder, I hope you’ll choose mine first.”

My tears were on cue. This was the Sterling I’d fallen in love with. Though I was careful not to interpret too much from his kind gesture. Sterling wouldn’t want to entangle himself with me again, especially now, but maybe we could be friends. I rested my cheek on his shoulder, something I’d done a hundred times.

He gently shifted gears, trying not to jostle me. “Who would want to see you pinned for these robberies?”

“I don’t know.” Had I made an enemy I was unaware of?

“What about the man Miss Landis saw? Know anyone of that description?”

“No.” I raised my voice over the clunking floorboards as we drove along the cobblestone road. Wait. Cobblestone? This wasn’t the way to the boardinghouse. “Where are we going?”

“It’s dangerous to take you to your place.

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