Married Or Not?: Married or Not? / Ian's Ultimate Gamble

“Why don’t we leave it at this—I left you because I discovered that I didn’t really know you at all. What I did learn while we were married was that we were too different. We wanted different things in our lives. The longer I stayed, the more painful it was going to be to leave you. I also knew that if I talked to you about leaving, you would convince me to stay.”

“I would have liked the chance to know what in the hell I did to make you leave like that and refuse to communicate with me except through your lawyer.”

“Do you remember how we met and how quickly we came together?”

His lips quirked. “Oh, yeah. I remember it well.” His gaze was so heated Sherri felt scorched.

“Granted we had a great sex life, but—”

“Better than great, Sherri. Much better.”

“Okay. However, we didn’t take time to get to know each other out of bed. You wanted to spend our hours together in bed rather than talk to me.”

“And your point is?”

She shook her head. “This discussion is pointless and I’m tired. You’ve been a wonderful support since the accident and I do appreciate it, but this isn’t going to change anything between us, Greg. Being around you is upsetting, which is why I didn’t want to talk to you once I left.”

“You make me sound like an ogre.”

“You’re not.” She looked around the room. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. I’m really tired. I think I’ll go back to my room.”

Greg sighed and then stood while she backed away from the table, turned and rolled away.

He followed her to her room. “You’re going to need some help getting ready for bed.”

As tired as she was, she knew he was right. “Perhaps Hannah could—”

“She and Sven are off-duty. There’s no reason to have her come back when I’m here to help you.”

She looked at him and thought about changing clothes in front of him. That would be all it would take to get them into bed together, surgery or not, broken bones or not. Why did he have to be so attractive? He made her motor run nonstop whenever he was around. Right now, she couldn’t afford to be tempted.

“Don’t worry about it. I changed my clothes without help earlier this evening.”

“All right. At least let me put you on the bed before I leave.”

She rolled to her dresser and found one of her sleep shirts before going to the bed. She held up her arms.

He picked her up as though she were weightless and sat her on the side of the bed.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Greg said.

She nodded. He continued to stand there. She closed her eyes and looked down at her hands. She was on the verge of tears and she didn’t want him to know. She was so vulnerable right now in so many ways. It would be so easy to forget what she’d gone through in their marriage and accept the here and now.

She’d tried to make a clean break but fate was against her. She heard Greg leave the room and quietly close the door behind him.

Greg poured himself another glass of wine and wandered out to the back terrace.

He’d always loved Millie. She had been agile, both mentally and physically, all of her life until her fall. He’d spent as much of his childhood as possible in this home. His brother had refused to come for more than a couple of days at a time, saying there was nothing to do here. Kyle had found it boring and had preferred to spend his summers in Connecticut with his friends.

Millie was the reason he’d moved to Austin directly after graduating from the Police Academy. He had visited her as often as he could. She was the family he’d never had, she and Sherri.

There was no way he could get Millie back but he was going to do everything in his power to have a second chance with Sherri. He loved her too much not to try, and tonight he’d realized that she wasn’t indifferent to him.

That offered him a sliver of hope.

Six

Five years earlier

Greg Hogan saw the flashing lights from police cars and an ambulance before he turned into the restaurant’s parking lot. The yellow police tape already encircled the area behind the place and forensics was there gathering evidence.

A man had been murdered and it was Greg’s job to find his killer.

He pulled up alongside one of the police cars and walked over to the area.

“What have you got on the guy?” he asked one of the men, pulling a notebook out of his pocket.

“White male, forty-two years old, Kenneth Allred, according to one of his driver’s licenses.”

“What does the other one say?”

“He had four—Kenneth Allred, Fred Conway, Ken Crosley and Jerry Allen.”

“Maybe his prints will be on file somewhere.”

“We have an approximate time of death, based on a witness’s statement.”

Greg looked around the parking lot. “Has he been questioned yet?”

“She. She told us a little but she was so shaken that we placed her in a squad car with one of our men. We got the call forty-five minutes ago and were here in ten. One of the officers on patrol answered the call. The woman had gone back inside the restaurant and told the manager, who called it in.”

“Did she see the murder?”

“She said she saw two men running to a car from behind the restaurant as she was getting into her car. Their car left and she backed out of her parking space and glanced behind the building. That’s when she saw the victim.” The policeman nodded toward the floodlights at the back of the building. “She was able to see that he was covered in blood. That’s when she ran back inside.”

“I’ll talk to her…see if she can describe the men. I wonder if they saw her? Whatever else we do, we need to keep her name out of the papers in case they saw her and go looking for her.”

Greg spent the next half hour studying the crime scene, discussing the findings with the forensic team and studying the body. When he was through, he walked over to the police car where the witness sat in the front seat, staring out the windshield. He nodded to the uniformed officer who immediately got out of the car. Greg slid inside and looked at the witness.

The first thing he noticed was how small she was. She had thick, dark hair that tumbled around her shoulders.

“Ms. Masterson?” he said softly.

As though she were in a daze, she slowly turned to look at him.

“Yes?”

He held his hand out to her. “I’m Detective Greg Hogan.” She hesitantly offered her hand to him. He wasn’t surprised to find it cold. “Would you like to go inside and have a cup of coffee?”

Her husky voice intrigued him. She looked like a teenager and yet sounded like a seductive woman. “All right.”

He walked around the car and helped her out. She was shaking. Scenes like these were rough on civilians.

The manager had closed the restaurant. When he saw Greg at the door, he came over and let them inside.

“Hi. I’m Randy Kramer,” he said, offering his hand to Greg.

Greg shook his hand and replied, “Detective Greg Hogan, Homicide. Could we have some coffee, please?”

“Certainly. I’ve been sending coffee out to the men since they arrived.”

Greg led her to one of the booths. After she slid in, he sat opposite her.

Under the lights, he could see that her eyes were green and she had the longest lashes he’d ever seen.

“I have some questions for you. I know you’ve already talked to one of the policemen. I just have some follow-up questions for you if that’s okay.”

Randy placed two mugs of coffee in front of them. The woman immediately wrapped her fingers around the steaming cup.

Finally, she nodded at him.

“Okay. Let’s start with your name and address.”

“Sherri Masterson. The address is 2610 Mockingbird Lane.”

“Are you employed?”

“I’m finishing my last semester at the university. I help out on weekends at a pet store whenever I can.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

Greg concentrated on getting all of this on paper, but it was tough. He was having such a strong reaction to the woman…girl…that he was embarrassed. He had never met a woman who affected him so suddenly. Maybe he’d been working too many hours or hadn’t been with a woman for too long, but something was going on that was interfering with his concentration.

He cleared his throat. “Let’s go back a few hours and describe what you were doing.”

“They needed me to fill in this afternoon at the pet store for an employee who’d gone home sick. After my eleven o’clock class I went in and worked the rest of the day. A friend called me and asked me to go out. We met and had dinner.”

“Was he with you when you left?”

“No. He’d parked in front. He watched as I crossed the parking lot and waved when I reached my car.”

“Did he see the two men?”

She swallowed. “I don’t know.”

“Okay. So you got in your car. Then what?”

“I dropped my keys and they fell beneath the car. I had to reach under the car a little to get them. When I stood, I saw those two men running to a car parked in back.”

“Did you happen to notice the make or model of the car?”

She was already shaking her head before he finished the question. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know much about cars. It was either dark blue or black.” She closed her eyes for a moment. Then she looked at him. “I think it had four doors.”

“Texas plates?”

“I didn’t notice. Seeing two men hurrying to a car didn’t set off any alarms for me. I figured they were late for something.”

“Okay. Then what happened?”

“When they backed out, their headlights blinded me. I couldn’t make out anything at all. Then they gunned the car and sped away.”

“What did you do then?”

“I got into my car and pulled out, preparing to drive away. When I glanced around to make sure there were no other cars, I happened to see—” she swallowed again “—this, uh, this man and he was, uh, he was sprawled near the back door of the restaurant. The way he lay, and the sight of so much blood, made me think he was dead.”

“So you came inside?”

“Yes. I told the manager, who called 911.”

Greg leaned back in the booth and Sherri lifted her cup to her mouth, using both hands. She swallowed some coffee and carefully put the cup down.

“I know this is difficult for you.” He looked at his notes deliberately so he wouldn’t see the vulnerability in her eyes. It was all he could do not to move to the other side of the booth and put his arm around her for comfort. “Did you hear anyone say anything?”

“No.”

“Were you in your car or still standing beside it when their lights blinded you?”

“I was standing beside it.”

Which meant that they would be able to identify her. Great. Just great.

“Okay. I’d appreciate it if you could describe these men to me…whatever you can remember. Were they tall or short, thin or heavy, move with a limp, anything like that?”

She clasped her hands and was silent for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not being very helpful, but I didn’t see their faces. I really didn’t pay much attention to them.”

“But you did see them run. Long strides? Short strides? Athletic? Or laboring?”

“Oh. Well, I would say they were both agile. They practically sprinted. They were both tall, at least to me, but then everyone is tall to me.”

“Can you guess a height?”

“Mmm. Maybe five ten, five eleven. How tall are you?”

He was startled by her question. “Six one.”

“I guessed six feet, so I think I’m fairly accurate on their heights.”

“Would you please give me the name of your friend, just in case he may have seen them?”

“Sure.” She gave Greg the name and phone number.

“All right. If you don’t mind coming to the station in the morning I’d like to show you some mug shots as well as get your written statement. I don’t think it will take long.”

“Okay.”

They stood and he escorted her to her car. “I’d like to follow you home, if you don’t mind. I’m somewhat concerned that the men you saw may start looking for you. Let’s keep you as safe as possible.”

“I’m all for that.”

He walked her to her car, noting that the ambulance and the uniforms were gone. Only the yellow tape remained.

Greg waited until Sherri pulled out and headed toward the street and then he pulled in behind her. Once they reached her apartment building, he watched her until she disappeared inside, giving him a little wave as she did.

He needed to get his notes into the computer and get to work.

Sherri hurried into her apartment, closed and locked the door and turned on every light in the place. Then she went into the bathroom and threw up. After she washed her face and rinsed out her mouth, she went into her minuscule kitchen and got out a small carton of yogurt.

She turned out the living room/dining room/kitchen light and went to her bedroom. She glanced at her watch. It was eleven o’clock. She felt as though she’d been up all night. She sat on the side of her bed and finished her yogurt. Then she went in and took a long, warm shower.

When she finally crawled into bed and turned out the light her mind returned to the dead man. She shivered. She hadn’t gone near him but she had seen what he looked like from her car.

Sherri wished she could remember more about those men. They had definitely got a good look at her. Would they think she could identify them? She sincerely hoped not.

When Sherri drifted off to sleep she didn’t dream about the murder. Instead she dreamed about Detective Greg Hogan of Homicide.

In her dream something or someone was chasing her. She was in a panic because she couldn’t get away. Next, Greg Hogan was there. She ran into his arms, knowing she’d be safe. He held her so close she could hear and feel his heart beating. In the next scene she was watching him slowly take off his clothes…baring his broad shoulders and muscled chest, slowly unfastening his pants and sliding them down. She was mesmerized by his male beauty. He held out his hand and she took it, only then aware that she was nude.

He held her close and began to kiss her, which kindled flames of longing in her. He laid her on a wide bed and continued to kiss her as his hand stroked her body. She returned his kisses, feverishly wanting him to make love to her.

Sherri looked into his eyes as he moved away slightly and settled between her legs. Yes! This was what she wanted! She—

She woke up with a start. What in the world? She’d been dreaming about that detective. She sat up in bed and clutched her head. The dream had been so real.

How embarrassing. She had to go to the police station this morning to look at photos and to write out her statement. How was she going to be able to face him after having had such an erotic dream about him? How strange. Why would she have dreamed such a dream? She’d barely noticed him last night.

Liar. You were scared but not so scared that you missed his strong features, his sensuous mouth and his gentleness with you.

She went into the bathroom and took her shower, adjusting the water to be cooler than normal.

Seven

“Hey, Hogan, you’ve got a visitor.”

Greg looked up from the file he was working on and saw Sherri Masterson standing just inside the bull pen area of the station, looking a little lost. He stood, once again irritated by his body’s instant reaction to her.

Today she wore some kind of flowery dress. Greg forced himself to concentrate on why she was here while he strode over to where she waited.

Greg stuck out his hand, “Mornin’, Ms. Masterson. Thank you for coming in. I know last night was very traumatic for you. Did you sleep well?”

His innocent question caused her to turn a fascinating red and she looked away from him. Now what was that about? Had she spent the night with her boyfriend? He didn’t know why, but that thought bothered him.

“Mmm, yes, I slept all right…and please call me Sherri.”

“Sure. And I’m Greg.” He took her elbow and felt her stiffen. He immediately stepped away. “I’ve set up one of the rooms for us so we can have some privacy.”

And she blushed again. What was her problem? He tried not to come across as intimidating, but she was definitely nervous around him.

He cleared his throat. “Would you like some coffee?”

She smiled. “Is it as bad as I’ve heard police station coffee generally is?”

He grinned. “Naw. We just want people to think that. Otherwise, we’d take most of Starbucks’ business away.”

She chuckled and he relaxed a little. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as he’d feared. His biggest concern was that she might be picking up his strong attraction to her. He was a professional and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of obtaining this woman’s help in solving a murder.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll take some coffee.”

He opened a door and motioned to the table. “Have a seat and I’ll be right back.”

He closed the door behind him and took a big breath. He was being absolutely ridiculous. Maybe he should get his partner to do the interview. No, that wouldn’t work because he would somehow have to explain why he couldn’t do it.

He poured two mugs of coffee and headed back to the interview room.

“Here you are,” he said, setting one of the mugs in front of her and sitting down across the table. “I’d like you to write out your statement for me. If anything came to mind since we spoke, please let me know.”

She sipped her coffee. “Okay.”

He watched her write. She was a lefty. When she finally looked up, she caught him staring at her. He quickly blinked and smiled.

“Finished?”

“I think so. I can’t think of anything else.”

She handed him the paper and he put it aside. He opened a file and pulled out a photograph. “Have you ever seen this man before?”

Sherri took the picture and studied it. This wasn’t a mug shot. The man was smiling into the camera, his arms around two small children.

She looked up. “You know, I think he may have been in the restaurant last night.”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t swear to it, but his smile reminds me of a man we passed as the hostess led us to a table. In fact, my friend teased me about it.” She looked back down. “I didn’t pay all that much attention to him, though. He left before we did. Is he important to this case?”

“He’s the victim in this case.”

“Oh, no!” She sounded horrified. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I spoke with his family this morning and they gave me this photograph.”

“Are these his children?”

“One is. The other one is his nephew. We wanted to see if he’d been in the restaurant that night. His wife said he had a meeting to go to, although he didn’t say where.”

“I’m so sorry for his family.”

“Was he alone when you saw him?”

She thought about his question before finally saying, “He was when we passed him. After that I had my back to him. All I know was that he wasn’t there when we passed that table on the way out.”

“We interviewed several people, including your friend, who were at the restaurant last night. You seem to be the only person who actually saw the two men run from behind the restaurant.”

She shivered.

He moved his hand so that it rested on hers. “They have no idea who you are. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

She looked at his hand. He noted that his hand swallowed hers. She didn’t pull away so he left it there. She looked back at him. “But they saw me very clearly. They saw my car.”

“Unless they have someone in their pocket who can run a DMV check on you, they won’t bother you.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Next, I’d like you to look at some of these mug shots to see if you recognize anyone. We’re still investigating his possible contacts and hoping you see someone here that you recognize.”

He opened the book and she blinked. “That’s a lot of people. And I never saw their faces.”

“There may be something that might trigger a memory…a tilt of a head, the shape of a jaw, that sort of thing. I’ll leave you to look and will be back a little later.”

He checked on her from time to time, but in the end she didn’t recognize anyone.

“I’m so sorry. I know I’m not being much help,” she said.

“Actually, you are. We know these guys weren’t involved.”

“We can hope. I should have been more aware.”

Greg looked at his watch. “It’s almost lunchtime. Would you care to go get something to eat? That is, if you don’t have other plans.”

She stood and stretched, causing her top to ride up and bare her midriff. Greg looked away but he was too late to stop his reaction to the sight. He had a sudden desire to kiss her right there.

“Actually, lunch sounds good. I sort of skipped breakfast this morning.”

“Great.” He opened the door and ushered her out of the room.

He drove them to one of the cafés where he generally ate lunch. It was a little hole-in-the-wall place that served the best hamburgers in town.

Once inside and seated, Sherri looked around the room in wonder. “I never knew this place was here.”

He grinned. “Another top secret among law-enforcement guys. They’re open all the time and there have been times when it was the only place where we could get something to eat.”

“Do they have trouble with people dealing drugs late at night? I’ve heard that the places that stay open all night tend to attract them.”

“No. They’ve made it clear to the people who come in that the place is frequented by off-duty as well as on-duty cops. Seems to work.”

Once they gave their order, Greg leaned on his folded arms and asked, “Tell me a little about yourself.”

She looked at him in surprise, obviously startled by the question. “Didn’t you get all that information from me last night?”

He grinned. “This isn’t about the case, Sherri. I’ve tried my darnedest to hide the fact that I’m attracted to you but I can’t seem to be detached where you’re concerned. This is just for my own information.”

Her cheeks flamed. “Oh.”

He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Of course, it may be all one-sided, so if you’d rather not—”

“Uh, no. It isn’t at all one-sided.”

He settled back in the booth with a grin and said, “Good. Let’s hear it.”

“My life is very ordinary. I’ve been in school most of my life, it seems. Right now I’m taking a course in computer software and technical writing.”

“How about family?”

She shook her head. “No family. Parents died when I was fourteen. The aunt who took over caring for me died of cancer last year.”

“You’ve had some tough breaks.”

“Since I can’t do anything about the past, I do my best to look forward to the future.”

Their food arrived and they concentrated on their meal. Once they finished, Sherri looked at him and said, “Your turn.”

He looked at her quizzically for a moment and then nodded. “What do you want to know?”

“How old you are…are you married…what about family? Those things. Oh, and why you decided to go into law enforcement.”

“Are you sure you aren’t writing my biography?”

“Depends on how interesting it might be.”

“Oh. In that case, you’ll be bored right away, so I’m safe.”

He paused. He didn’t like talking about himself. Hated it, in fact. However, if he wanted to spend time with Sherri…which he definitely did…he’d better give her some idea of who he was.

“Let’s see. I’m twenty-seven years old, never been married, got a degree and immediately went into the Police Academy.”

“Did you go to college here in Austin?”

Okay, no hedging. “Actually I, uh, no, I didn’t. I graduated from Harvard.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Really?”

“Yep.”

“Are you originally from the East Coast?”

“I have to admit I’m not a native Texan, but I got here as soon as I could.”