Sworn to Protect Page 12

  She rose and grabbed Saaski a jerky treat. As she passed the counter she saw the hypnosis CD Dr. Seryn had made for her at their last session and stopped. The night sounds penetrated the small house and she realized if she ever wanted to be free from this hell, she had to take steps.

  She eyed the CD. The possibility that the identity of her attacker was locked in her head was a scary thing. But Iris refused to live in fear for her entire life. She scooped up the CD and walked resolutely to her bedroom, Saaski on her heels. She changed into her night clothes and, after rooting around to find her CD player, she settled into her bed with her headphones on.

  She allowed her eyes to close, the intimate sound of Dr. Seryn’s smooth, soft voice in her ear, soothing her fears and renewing her determination to succeed.

  Soon, from the safety of her mind, she returned to the bar in her memory.

  The music, the people, the smells, even the taste of the beer on her tongue—all of it came back to her. She heard her own flirty laughter, watched as she danced and sang, remembered that she’d been wishing Sundance were there to see her.

  Midnight was approaching. She’d made the decision to call it a night. Someone was urging her to have another drink. She declined but laughed as she said it, definitely sounding as if she could easily be persuaded to change her mind. Her bladder was full to the point of pain. She needed to pee. She disappeared to the ladies’ restroom, intent on leaving after she relieved herself. She returned to take a small sip of her tonic spritzer and noticed it had tasted bitter. The guy who’d been buying her drinks all night was gone, had moved on. She could see him zeroing in on someone else, someone more likely to put out.

  Dizziness started to cloud her vision. She gripped the bar to steady herself. Someone asked if she was all right. She waved away their concern; she was fine. Just a little woozy. Probably should call Mya to come get her. Her stomach felt queasy, unsettled.

  A hand on her arm held her upright as her knees started to weaken. A part of her couldn’t believe this was happening. She hadn’t drank enough to be so incapable of standing. Her clinical training kicked in and a chill followed the realization that she’d been drugged. She had to find help. Her vision had begun to smear. She turned to find Butch but he was at the far end of the bar. There were faces she didn’t know blurring into the fuzzy landscape.

  Suddenly the gentle but firm pressure of a hand steadying her had her offering a slurred thank you as she was propelled from the crowded bar to the cold shock of outside.

  “Drugged,” she managed to say, needing this person to take her to the urgent care center.

  A low rumble of soft laughter followed. She frowned, there was nothing funny about this. But the touch on her arm became painful and she stumbled in her attempt to free herself.

  “So feisty,” the voice murmured, easily deflecting her clumsy attempt to strike out at whoever was doing this to her. She was put into a car and strapped in. She pawed at the door handle, not quite able to manage enough strength to grip the cold plastic. Delighted laughter followed and she fought the urge to vomit. A hand on her hair, playing with the long strands, made her want to scream. “Oh, the things I’m going to do to you…”

  And then there was nothing.

  Sundance pulled up to the modest home outside of Forks and after a short, assessing look around, he knocked on the door. A petite blonde with chin-length hair answered with a smile. “Can I help you?”

  Sundance flashed his credentials. “I’m Sundance Jonson, tribal police officer on the neighboring reservation where your husband works. We spoke on the phone,” he reminded her.

  Her expression cooled. “Yes. I already told you my husband was home that night.”

  He ignored her declaration and looked past her. “Is your husband home? He wasn’t at the Tribal Center today and he left early yesterday.”

  “He’s sick,” she answered stiffly, preparing to close the door, but Sundance stopped her with the flat of his hand and a warning look.

  “I need to speak with him. Now.”

  She swallowed, looking as if she wanted to slam the door in his face but resisted because she didn’t want to go to jail for assault. But she knew something was up because she kept sending furtive glances behind her. Sundance gave the door a hard push, that knocked her out of the way and revealed Brett hiding in the foyer behind a large potted plant.

  “You don’t have the right to—”

  He cut off the wife’s tirade by zeroing in on Brett. “Is there a reason you lied to me about your whereabouts the night Iris Beaudoin was attacked?”

  “I didn’t lie.” He shared a look with his wife. “I was home sleeping.”

  “Yeah, that’s what you said but I know that’s a lie. And you and your wife both know that’s a lie. What I figure is that you told her you were somewhere other than where you really were, that is why she’s willing to fudge your whereabouts. But does she know that you were actually at the bar and trying to pick up the victim?”

  “You were at the bar?” Brett’s wife’s voice rippled with hurt indignation. Sundance wondered what tale he’d spun to get her to lie for him. She’d clearly known her husband hadn’t been in bed beside her that night. “You told me you were at a meeting! You told me to lie because you didn’t want your boss to know you were moonlighting for extra cash! You liar!”

  Brett blanched, his skin turning a sickly shade as he was clearly caught. His wife looked ready to cry. “Jana—”

  “I knew you were lying,” she stated, her eyes filling with tears. She turned to Sundance, saying with enough bitterness to reveal all wasn’t right in the Duncan marriage, “I take back what I said. He wasn’t with me. He didn’t come home until 2:00 a.m.” She turned to her husband and spat. “I didn’t uproot my life so we could have a fresh start just so you could go back to your whoring ways. I want you out.”

  Brett wanted to go after her but with Sundance standing there, a silent witness to their little drama, he was stuck. He shot Sundance a nasty look but stayed put. “Are you happy? You just ruined my marriage.”

  Sundance’s gaze narrowed as he gave the man a cold smile. “We both know you weren’t at a business meeting, unless you regularly hold meetings at The Dam Beaver. Let’s try for the truth this time. Where were you between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.?”

  “Are you charging me with something?” Brett asked.

  “Just answer the question.”

  “I’m not answering anything until I talk with my lawyer. If you’re charging me with something, get on with it. If not, get out of my house. I have to talk with my wife.”

  Brett turned to follow in the direction of his wife but Sundance wasn’t finished yet. He grabbed the man and spun him around, pinning him to the wall with his forearm against Brett’s windpipe. “I don’t think you heard me correctly,” he said silkily, as the man struggled to breathe. “I want to know where the hell you were between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. It’s very simple. I don’t care if you were banging some willing broad behind your wife’s back. I just want to know if you were assaulting a woman who’d been drugged earlier at the bar. An eyewitness puts you at the scene with the victim. Now, I can drag your sorry, cheating ass down to the station but you should know by now that I work for a sovereign nation and our rules aren’t the same as yours. So call your lawyer, but I can guarantee that if you’re guilty, no lawyer is going to save you from the tribal justice that’s going to rain down on your head. Are we clear?” Sundance let up on the man’s throat and Brett drew in deep, wheezing breaths, fear registering in his eyes. Stepping away, Sundance gave the man a second to compose himself but he wasn’t going anywhere until he got some answers. His adrenaline was kicking in his veins and it took every ounce of self-control he had not to pummel the answers out of the man.

  Brett massaged his throat, his fear finally loosening his lips, and he lost the earlier bravado. “Yeah, I saw her. She was the hottest chick in the bar. Kinda hard to miss. I bought h
er a few drinks but when I realized I wasn’t going to get anything for my trouble, I moved on around midnight or so.” He did a quick check to make sure his wife’s door was still closed tight and said in a lowered voice, “Listen, I went home with an older chick named Bonnie Sweet. She’ll verify that I was with her until two. Then I came home.”

  Nice. Coming home to the wife after shagging some other woman. “So when did Chad Brown leave the bar?” he asked, not even trying to disguise his disgust for the man.

  “He left earlier, I think. I don’t know. I was preoccupied and since we brought separate cars I wasn’t worried about a ride.”

  “You two go out often?” Sundance inquired.

  “Not really. This was our first time to the bar. I mean, he’s my boss.”

  Until he questioned Bonnie Sweet to verify Brett’s story, he’d have to let up. “If I find out you’re lying to me again…I’ll do more than leave a few bruises,” he warned. By the way Brett’s Adam’s apple bobbed, the man believed him. He had one more question. “Where were you the night Sierra was attacked?”

  “Home. With my wife.”

  “I’ve heard that before.”

  “This time I’m not lying.” Brett swallowed, then added with earnest, “I know I shouldn’t have lied the first time, but put yourself in my shoes…”

  “I’m not a lying sack of crap who cheats on his wife,” Sundance said. “So I can’t imagine myself in your shoes. I don’t care about your life or how you live it. I’m trying to solve a case. That’s it. Don’t lie to me and we’ll get along just fine. But you’ve already tipped the scale against you so don’t expect any favors.” Brett wisely remained silent as Sundance saw himself to the door. He said, “I’ll be in touch,” and returned to his Durango. He could only imagine what was going to happen between those two after he left. Sundance hoped Brett’s wife had the wherewithal to leave the sorry excuse for a husband but he didn’t waste much more thought on the Duncans.

  He had a feeling Brett’s story would check out. Bonnie Sweet was a bit of a loose skirt on the reservation. Chances are she banged him just like he said, which would give Brett a solid—if not sleazy—alibi.

  That left Chad.

  Chad swore he’d left earlier that night.

  But Sundance couldn’t just take his word for it.

  Hopefully, he had a solid alibi.

  Because right about now, he was looking more and more like a suspect instead of an old friend.

  Chapter 17

  Sundance was preparing to confront Chad when the man walked through his front door at the station.

  “We need to talk,” Chad stated, his mouth grim. “I heard you went to Brett’s house and roughed him up pretty good.” When Sundance offered little reaction, Chad swore under his breath. “What are you doing, man? You can’t go kicking people around like you’re Sitting Bull or something. There’s rules and laws for a reason and if you hope to keep your funding, you won’t break or bend them for your own purposes.”

  “I’m running an investigation. He was a person of interest and he refused to answer my questions until I persuaded him to change his attitude. After that, he was cooperative.”

  Chad’s mouth tightened and Sundance appreciated his position but the investigation was more important than political posturing in his world, so Chad would just have to deal with it.

  “I’m glad you came by. I need to ask you some questions,” Sundance said.

  “Are you going to kick me around, too, to get what you need?” Chad asked, half joking.

  “Depends on your answers,” he retorted, not laughing.

  “This sounds serious,” Chad said, sighing as he grabbed a chair and made himself comfortable. “What can I do for you?”

  “I need to know where you were between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. the night Iris was attacked. And try to be specific.”

  Chad frowned. “Back to this? I told you where I was. Home, alone, barfing my guts out. It must’ve been something I ate. I felt better the next morning.”

  He wanted to take him at his word but if he were anyone else, he wouldn’t. “Would you mind if I took a DNA sample to rule you out?”

  “I didn’t know DNA had been collected from the victims,” Chad said with mild interest. Sundance refrained from elaborating, just waited for Chad’s consent, that he didn’t get. Chad exhaled and shook his head. “I want to help you out, I mean, I want whoever did this caught as much as you do but I gotta tell you, I’m starting to get a real ‘you’re a suspect’ vibe from you. Is there something I ought to know? I’m just a paper pusher, like you said. Do I really look like the kind of man who preys on women?”

  “It’s not personal,” Sundance said. “You don’t have an alibi for that night. You and Brett both failed to disclose that you were at the bar with the victim. You’re both off-rez and I can’t ignore the fact that you’re both new to the area.”

  “Come on, Sundance…there had to have been plenty of off-rez people in that bar that night. Are you going to run down every single person and ask them to spit on a stick so you can run their DNA? I’m pretty sure that’s an invasion of privacy, even in these liberal times. And I’m not entirely off-rez having lived here for seven years in the past. Doesn’t that count for something?”

  “Are you saying no?” Sundance asked, hating that Chad was being resistant.

  “I am—for now—but I hate to think that you might believe me capable of rape so I’m going to level with you,” Chad said, looking uncomfortable. “Here’s the honest to God’s truth and it isn’t something I’m proud of…” He drew a deep breath, shaking his head as if unable to believe he was about to share. “I have proof I was home at the hours in question.”

  “How so? I thought you said you were alone.”

  “Well, I said there was no one at the house with me.”

  “Sounds like alone in my book.”

  “It is if you’re not online with someone.”

  Sundance stared. “Come again?” he asked.

  “Okay, it’s true I went home sick after the bar but after I threw up I felt better…and a little lonely, if you catch my drift. I hadn’t expected to go home so early and…well, there’s this website I frequent when the action’s been a little on the slow side.”

  “Are you talking about porn?” Sundance asked, trying not to let his surprise show.

  Chad colored. “Yeah.” An awkward pause followed, and then he said, “Anyway, it’s a pay and play kind of thing and I can bring you a copy of my credit card statement that shows when and how long I was on the site.”

  Sundance smiled, a flood of relief lightening his voice as he said, “If you can get me that copy, I think I can do without your DNA. Sorry, but I had to ask.”

  “You’re just doing your job. I appreciate that. Hell, I know if I’m ever the victim of a crime, I want you on the case. You don’t give up.”

  “No, I don’t,” Sundance said. “I can’t. These are my people and I will catch whoever did this.”

  “So how’d you come up with new details? I thought the victims couldn’t remember anything. Something about the drug caused some sort of amnesia.”

  “True but one of them is using hypnosis and new details are coming out. Sooner or later, a detail will emerge that will crack this case wide-open. I have a feeling.”

  Chad smiled. “Great. Tell her to stick with it. I hope it works out.”

  “Me, too.”

  Chad unfolded himself from the chair. “Well, if you’re finished grilling me, I need to head back to the office.”

  He walked Chad to the door. “I’m sorry for the questions.”

  Chad grinned. “Never feel the need to apologize for doing your job. The world needs more people like you. You’d be surprised how many would’ve just ignored their instincts for the sake of preserving a relationship. You do good work.”

  “How’d the tour of the clinic go with your father?” he asked.

  Chad sighed and shrugged. “Fi
ne. I was a bit disappointed, I didn’t get to introduce him to Mya or Iris. He would’ve benefited from hearing straight from them how it is at the clinic. But, apparently, we’d just missed them. Iris and Mya had gone to lunch together.”

  “Yeah, they’re real close,” Sundance said, secretly relieved.

  “Yeah, I got that impression. All right, I’ll let you get back to work. And I’ll let you know what I hear from my father about the funding requests.”

  As relieved as Sundance was to scratch Chad from the suspect list, coupled with the fact that he grudgingly had to eliminate Brett as well, that left him with a big, fat zero, and Sundance hated knowing that he was back to square one in his investigation. He scrubbed his hands over his face, feeling every year of his life weighing down on him, pressing the air from his chest. He steepled his fingers before him, wondering where to go next.

  Iris rounded a corner, her stomach growling a reminder that she’d passed the lunch hour at least a handful of hours ago, and nearly ran into Mya who was chatting with Chad Brown and another man she didn’t recognize. Immediately her stomach muscles tensed and she was overwhelmed with the need to run but her reaction only served to piss her off and she forced a smile as she walked toward them.

  “What’s going on here?” she asked, looking to Mya who’d been giving Chad an almost flirty smile before she’d realized anyone was watching.

  The older man stepped forward and grasped her hand in welcome. She forced a smile and resisted the urge to jerk her hand away. “We missed each other the other day and I felt a visit wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t meet the two women everyone says keep this place running like a well-oiled machine. My name’s Paul Brown, director of Indian affairs, at your service.”