Addy could understand why Stacy would like Aaron to be responsible. That made for a quick, easy answer. Stacy was dying to teach the Amoses a lesson, to show them who was boss in this town. But Aaron wasn’t a kidnapper or a would-be ra**st. Other than a minor bar fight, he’d never been arrested for anything violent, which was how he’d always escaped with fines or community service. Stacy thought he finally had him dead to rights and could really see him punished.
“I—I can just tell.” For a second, she wondered if Kevin, Tom, Stephen or Derek had put him up to it for money or whatever. But he wasn’t the type to be anyone’s pawn. Whoever had awakened her wasn’t that tough or embittered. Her kidnapper had been too frightened of his own actions. “Stop it! I—that’s not who I am,” he’d said in a tortured, pleading whine.
Aaron would not have behaved that way.
“The man who took me didn’t have a distinctive voice, but he didn’t have Aaron’s voice, either,” she said.
The police chief pulled out the chair he’d commandeered from Officer Jones, essentially telling her the same thing he’d just told Aaron—have a seat because we’re not finished yet.
“You need to take your time and think this through,” he cautioned. “Memories can be tricky. And, like I said, we’ve got hard evidence linking him to the crime scene. This knife belongs to him. I’ve had several people tell me so.” He angled his head in Aaron’s direction. “He even admits it, says it was a Christmas gift from his older brother.”
Aaron’s eyes narrowed into slits whenever they focused on the chief of police, but he didn’t seem to feel strongly about her. Thank goodness. That gaze, and the tension in his body, reminded her of a snake, tightly coiled and ready to strike.
“Someone must’ve taken it out of my jockey box,” he told her. “I didn’t even know it was gone until this bozo—” he indicated Jones, who stood behind them “—showed up at Sexy Sadie’s and used finding that knife as an excuse to pull me out of the bar. I certainly didn’t threaten you with murder, and I’d never threaten an old lady. I might be an ass**le, but I’m not that kind of ass**le.”
She believed him, but the same couldn’t be said for the police. Stacy seemed convinced he’d already solved the case.
“How do you know Milly was threatened if you weren’t there?” he asked.
Aaron made a sound of incredulity. “You’re kidding, right? Everyone knows. We live in a small town, which is why you get to run around pretending to be so damn important.”
“I told you to watch your mouth—”
Addy broke in, before the situation could escalate. “What color is his vehicle?”
They blinked at each other. “He drives a black truck. Why?” Stacy asked.
“I thought it might be a car,” she lied. “Anyway, this isn’t going anywhere, Chief. He’s not the one. He—he would have no reason to do what the real culprit did to me.”
The police chief scowled at her. “He intended to rape you. That’s the reason.”
Aaron kicked the table. “I didn’t even know Adelaide was back in town! Anyway, why would I need to rape anyone? The night she was abducted I was in bed with Shania Carpenter.”
Addy felt her jaw drop. “Cody Rackham’s girlfriend?”
“Cody’s been gone a long time.” He shrugged and gave her a half grin. “She’s still crying over him, and she’d rather have his brother if she can’t have him, but I don’t mind. Makes me feel safe, I guess,” he added with a chuckle. “Anyway—” sobering, he addressed Stacy again “—she was at my place the whole night. She’ll vouch for me.”
“So how’d your knife end up in Milly’s flower bed?” Stacy demanded.
“I told you. Someone must’ve taken it out of my truck.”
“Who?”
“How the hell should I know? Anyone could’ve done it. I never lock my truck. Never felt the need. Most people don’t want to run the risk of what I’ll do to them if I catch them stealing from me. And I park all over town—at Sexy Sadie’s, the body shop, my place....”
“Where is he?”
A determined, quietly menacing voice intruded, coming from the entrance of the building. Addy looked through the inside window to see Dylan Amos stalking through the reception area like a bull charging at a red flag.
His hair was mussed on one side, and she guessed he’d been in bed when he received the call that his brother had been taken to the police station. Under different circumstances, showing up so rumpled might’ve made him look boyish, even harmless, but the rock-hard set of his jaw and the flintiness of his eyes convinced her that if he chose to unleash his anger, he’d be anything but harmless.
Someone who’d seen Aaron get arrested at Sexy Sadie’s must’ve alerted him, she thought. Addy didn’t get the impression Aaron had been afforded his one call. That might be part of what had Dylan so furious.
“In here, Dyl!” Aaron shouted, but he seemed more upset, rather than less, that his brother was now involved.
Dylan strode past Officer Willis, who made a halfhearted attempt to stop him but didn’t succeed. Once beyond that first line of defense, Dylan came into the small interrogation room as if he had every right, even shouldered Officer Jones to one side. “What the hell’s going on this time?” he asked Stacy.
The police chief raised his hands in a placating manner but his voice took on a warning note. “Settle down, Dylan. This has nothing to do with you.”
“It does if it involves my brother.” Dylan’s gaze settled on Aaron. “What’d you do?”
Aaron sighed as he raked his fingers through his hair. “Nothing. But they’re calling it a lot of things. Kidnap. Assault. Attempted rape. They’re coming up with anything they can.”
Dylan’s hands curled into fists. “Rape?”
Aaron’s eyes flicked to those closed fists, but he didn’t flinch. He sat taller. “I didn’t do it.”
“That’s serious shit, Aaron,” his brother said. “I won’t stand by you if you’ve fallen that low.”
“What are you talking about?” Aaron jumped to his feet. “If you want to hit me, then hit me, damn it! We’ll go at it right here. But I swear to God, Dyl. You know me. I’d never hurt a woman.”