The Dollmake (The Forgotten Files 2)

“You have every right to expect that of me. I am your wife.” She shook her head. “You always looked annoyed when I tried to speak to you. I thought I was doing something wrong.”

A smile quirked the edges of his lips. “I’ve been told that I always look annoyed.”

“You do.” She smiled. “Though it does make you look kind of sexy.”

His dark gaze held hers, but she didn’t move toward him. Again, it was up to her to bridge the gap. Fine. She’d keep reaching out until he understood she wasn’t going anywhere.

Unhooking her seat belt, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Watching her, he didn’t pull away but didn’t kiss her back. Why did he always make it so difficult? She leaned into the kiss and nipped his lip with her teeth. A growl rumbled in his chest, and he deepened the kiss as he wove his fingers into the curled strands of her hair. She could feel the emotions racing toward the surface as the kiss grew in intensity.

The car radio squawked and broke her concentration. As if sensing her thoughts, he said, “The job will always be there. There will always be puzzle pieces to assemble.”

“I know. I can handle it.”

He pulled his fingers from her hair. “I don’t want you to handle it. You deserve better.”

“I want you.”

He straightened. “We couldn’t hack it for an entire year.”

“I’ve tried life with you and without you. I like it better with you.”

He shook his head, and getting out of the car, walked around to her side. He opened the door. For a moment she didn’t move, then she grabbed her purse and slid out. He stood stone straight. The shields were back in place.

She fished her keys from her purse and opened her car door with the click of a button. “I’m not giving up on you, Agent.”

He closed his passenger door and turned toward her as she sat behind the wheel.

She lowered her window. “You think you’re tough.” Her smile wasn’t bitter or sad, but knowing. “But I’m tougher. See you soon.”

She started the engine, and as she pulled out of the parking space, she glanced in the rearview mirror. He hadn’t moved. Good.

Sharp couldn’t sit behind his desk after speaking with Tessa. He was jacked up with nervous energy and thoughts of her. If he let her back into his life and she left again, what the hell would he do? When his phone rang, he was grateful for the distraction. “Agent Sharp.”

“Andrews. Your friend Madison has surfaced. He’s back at his studio. Electricity usage has spiked.”

“Not very creative.”

“We’re all creatures of habit.”

“True.”

“Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

A coldness settled over the fire in his belly as he returned to the man’s studio, where he could see light seeping out from a back room. “We’re all creatures of habit,” he muttered, repeating Andrews’s words.

He parked and strode up to the side door. He banged his fist against the door, standing to the side as he waited. At first, silence, so he banged louder. Finally, there were footsteps.

The door snapped open to a disheveled Madison, who immediately tried to slam the door. Sharp blocked it with his foot. “We need to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.” The thick scent of bourbon wafted from Madison’s breath. “Jesus, can’t you give me a break? I’m in mourning here.”

Madison rubbed long fingers over the thickening stubble on his chin. His shoulders slumped and he stepped aside, allowing Sharp to enter before walking back to the small room.

Sharp closed the door. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Why? You delivered your news. Leave me in peace.”

“You lied to me. You told me you broke it off with Diane.”

“I did.”

“Then why were you stalking her?”

Anguish deepened the lines around his eyes. “I wasn’t stalking her. I just wanted to talk to her. Tell her I was sorry.”

“I watched the surveillance tapes from the camera next to Diane’s front porch. You showed up at her house at least twice.”

Madison rubbed his forehead with trembling fingers. “I was having second thoughts.”

“Why’d you throw away all your paintings?”

He crumpled into a chair. “I couldn’t look at her. Jesus, her eyes seemed to follow me. Haunted me. I couldn’t take it. I kept thinking if I’d stayed with her, she’d still be alive.”

“How long were you two together?”

“We met in college, but then lost touch. We met again two years ago at one of my art openings. She came to say hi. Said she recognized my name. We were together a couple of years. She was my muse. The woman gave me inspiration. But as my workload increased, she began to resent it. She started making demands on my time. I resented her getting in the way of my work, so I broke it off.”

“But you moved to Richmond a couple of months ago. Why break up and then move to her city?”

“It didn’t take long for me to realize the breakup was a mistake. Without her, I couldn’t work. I wanted to make it right between us. I thought I could save our relationship.”

“Her mother says Diane was the one that broke it off.”

“Diane’s mother didn’t like the idea of me as a possible son-in-law in the first place. And then to have me break up with her daughter, well, she was embarrassed. But the old woman did her best to poison Diane against me. The harder I tried to win Diane back, the more she seemed to resent me.”

“It must have been frustrating trying to apologize and then have her refuse you.”

“I was so sure she’d take me back eventually. And when she didn’t, I couldn’t eat or sleep. It was terrible.”

“Did her rejection make you angry?”

“Sure, it made me angry.”

“Were you mad enough to kill her?”

Bloodshot eyes rose to Sharp. “God, no!”

Sharp scrolled through the images on his phone and showed the picture of Diane’s face to him. “Someone did a number on her face. It’s what an angry man might do to a woman who’s rejected him.”

Tears welled in his eyes. “Jesus, that’s Diane?”

“It is.”

Tears streamed along his face as he looked away. “I would never hurt her. Never.”

“You’ve been in the city for the last two months. You h

ad the opportunity.”

“I couldn’t have done that to her, and I wasn’t here the entire two months. I was in Florida for two weeks.”

“When?”

“I left about three weeks ago and only returned last week.”

“You could have left her locked in a room with food and water.”

“I wouldn’t do that!” he shouted.

“What do you know about Kara Benson?” Sharp asked, shifting directions.

“Kara?” He slowly shook his head. “She and I went out a couple of times in college.”

“Do you remember what happened to her?”

“She overdosed.”

“Were you at her funeral?”

“Yeah. She was in one of my classes, and it was a small community.”

“Do you remember the last time you saw Kara?”

Madison shook his head. “What does Kara have to do with Diane?”

He ignored the question. “When was the last time you saw Kara?”

“The night of the Halloween party. She was there with Diane and Tessa.”

“I understand you caused a fight between Kara and Tessa?”

“I might have stirred it up between them, but it wasn’t that big a deal.”

“It was a big enough deal for Tessa to leave the party distracted enough to get hit by a car. It was enough of a big deal for Kara to leave the party alone and end up with the guy who fed her the pills that killed her.”

“What the hell? I didn’t have any connection to that. I was young and trying to hook up.”

“Do you remember what Tessa, Elena, and Diane were wearing at the Halloween party?”

“Sure. Doll costumes.”

“What did you think about the outfits?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Sure you do. How did they look to you?”

“Sexy as hell. Half the guys at the party couldn’t stop looking at them.”

Sharp flexed the fingers of his right hand. “Do you have a fetish for dolls?”

Madison rose, his gaze hardening with a survivor’s glint. “Do you have any solid evidence connecting me to Diane’s murder?”

“Not yet. But I’d like a DNA sample from you.”

Madison shook his head. “Cops get DNA samples from suspects.”

Sharp considered reaching for his cuffs but knew the instant he detained Madison, he’d have to read him his Miranda rights, and the whole dynamics of this interaction would change. “They also use DNA to weed out the innocent. I’m looking for a killer, and I need to keep my focus on the target.”