Josie stiffened. How did he know that?
Malloy surveyed her. “Are you sure you don’t recognize any of these men, Mrs. Dean?”
“Yes.” She kept her voice low to prevent it from quivering. “Why do you ask?”
Malloy reached into a second file for an evidence bag holding a battered piece of paper. “Because we found your picture in the pocket of a dead man.”
Chapter 5
Josie reached out with trembling fingers to touch the wrinkled paper. The picture was from her firm’s website and had been printed on cheap computer paper. Her knees trembled and the air in her lungs chilled. “Why would someone have my picture?”
Shane shook his head. “So the mugging wasn’t random.”
“No.” Malloy tapped his pen on the table. “These men were looking for Mrs. Dean.”
“Why?” Josie turned toward Shane. “I don’t understand. Why would these guys be looking for me? And why hurt you?” Reality began spinning away from her along with her sense of safety. Fear tasted like acid in her throat. “How did you meet up with them?” So many questions, and the answers remained locked in Shane’s hard head.
His jaw tightened. He grabbed the paper, studying her smiling face. “I don’t know. But this picture is off the Internet, right?” At her nod, he exhaled. “We’ll discuss the safety in posting your face online later.” He tossed the paper back down. “They needed the picture to identify you. My assumption is they were looking for me, considering someone bashed my head in.” The chair creaked as he sat back. “Of course, we need to get you somewhere safe while we figure this out.”
Had those men been looking for her? What if they’d found her? No way could she have defended herself against all three of them. “The three guys with my picture are dead.” Probably by Shane’s hand.
He eyed the picture. “There could be more men after us.”
“After you.” Or maybe after her. What was she going to do? “Maybe I should take a vacation. By myself.”
He shifted his focus, his gaze wandering her face, a smile flirting with his lips. “You’re stuck with me for now, angel. Deal with that fact.” The smile did nothing to camouflage the determination setting his hard jaw.
Malloy cleared his throat. “I can put you somewhere safe, Mrs. Dean.” His chest puffed out.
Josie fought to keep from choking on the testosterone that thickened the air. “I need a minute to myself, gentlemen.” The word probably didn’t apply to either man sitting in the room. What should she do?
Hiding out didn’t seem like a smart option… especially without a timeline. She couldn’t just abandon work, especially since she needed to correct Billy’s files—and then make partner. The security from such a position would allow her finally to relax a little bit, and the only way she’d get the promotion would be to stay visible. At the firm, anyway. “Is there another alternative?”
Malloy sighed. “I can have a black-and-white check by your house during patrol. We don’t have the manpower to put someone on your house twenty-four hours a day, but I’ll do what I can.” He slid the paper into a file, tapping the entire stack into a neat pile and eyeing Shane. “I’m assuming you’ll be staying with her?”
“Yes.”
Josie blinked several times. Why would those men want her? What was Shane involved in? What if they came after her? Sure, she remembered some self-defense. Not enough, though. She’d purposefully decided to take yoga instead of karate to keep in shape. The exact opposite of what Shane would’ve told her to do.
Malloy stood. “I don’t have any other questions for you right now but would appreciate you keeping me informed of your location.”
“Of course.” Shane pushed back from the table and stood, assisting Josie to her feet. “Let me know if you identify the men in the morgue.”
“I will. Although you’ll probably remember them soon, I’d think.” The detective crossed around the table. “I’ll show you out.”
*
Well past midnight, darkness filtering in the window, Josie finished knitting a scarf and laid it on the bed to admire it, her mind ablaze with thoughts. Shades of copper speckled the scarf’s pattern, guaranteed to bring out the amber flecks in Tom’s eyes. She’d been working on the scarf for him for about a week. Maybe she should’ve called him back after dinner. Should she tell Tom about Shane staying with her? She and Tom were just friends, but something more had hinted between them lately, and she liked him.