Tall, Dark and Wanted by Morgan Hayes

Author:Morgan Hayes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Tom Sutton’s parents had welcomed them both with open arms, and Lily Sutton—still wearing her apron from having prepared the evening meal—hugged Molly at least three times that Mitch counted. There had been no refusing dinner as Tom’s mother set places at the table and served up ample helpings of warmed leftovers.

Molly’s restlessness had eased somewhat as they ate and filled in the Suttons on Mitch’s situation and the case. But a half hour later, as Irwin Sutton ushered them into the living room and turned down the volume on the Bulls game, Mitch could almost see the tension that curved Molly’s shoulders and caused a muscle to twitch along her jawline.

It was the photos on the mantelpiece of the unused fire-place that caught and held her attention. He was probably the only one who saw her waver for a moment, before making her way across the room to confront the pictures. When Mitch joined her, she managed a quick smile, but he could clearly see how upsetting it was for her to look at the photos of her dead partner and friend.

“That’s Molly and Tommy when they were patrol partners,” Lily Sutton murmured, coming up behind Mitch and pointing out the framed print for him.

They stood beside each other, next to a white patrol car, Molly leaning against the front fender, and Tom—easily a foot taller—looming over her as he used the roof of the radio car to brace his elbow on. They were both in uniform, both smiling. And Mitch couldn’t help thinking that the Molly caught on celluloid looked more like the girl he’d left behind than the woman who stood next to him now. Her hair was longer in the photo, tied back into a ponytail, but still gleaming in the sunshine as she wedged her cap with its distinctive black-and-white checkered band under one arm. Her face glowed with enthusiasm and ambition, a smile of conviction, untainted by the yet-unseen horrors of the job or the brutality of Sergio Sabatini.

Watching her now, engrossed in the photos of her friend, Mitch could see how the job had worn at her since those early years on patrol. Even though there was still that light in her eyes, she smiled less. She looked exhausted, her face drawn, her complexion pale. And she was thinner now than she had been in all the years he’d known her.

“Best partner he ever had,” Lily Sutton told him. “That’s what Tom always said about Molly. Said she was the best cop he knew in all of Chicago.”

“No,” Molly said quietly as she settled an arm around Lily’s small shoulders. “No, that honor was Tom’s.”

He saw her struggle then to keep her emotions in check. She reached for the detective’s shield displayed on the mantel and traced one edge with her fingertip. Mitch saw her chin quiver slightly, and thought he saw the glisten of tears in her eyes.

He wondered if the Suttons knew the whole story, if they were aware of

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.