Her Christmas Detective - Laura Ann Page 0,18

miss. You’re not going anywhere.”

“He was supposed to fall in love with me!” she screeched, then broke down crying. She let her legs go limp and Hank almost lost hold of her as she slumped to the floor.

“What in tarnation is going on here?” Bill growled, storming out from his office. The police station at Seagull Cove wasn’t very large, since the town was so small, and soon the entire police force was standing in the waiting room, looking at the spectacle.

“Trisha?” one of the policemen asked, stepping forward. “What are you doing?”

“Go away, Dallin,” she whined.

“Trisha Bingham?” Another police officer shook his head.

“You know her?” Hank snapped, still struggling to hold on.

They both shook their heads. “She was a couple years behind me in school,” the first officer said sheepishly.

“My daughter was in her grade,” the older one explained.

“SHUT UP!” Trisha screamed, climbing back to her feet. “None of you know anything.” Her wailing grew to a feverish pitch.

“Bring her back here, son,” Bill said, waving Hank down the hallway. “Ms. Rodriguez?”

“Yes, sir?” the secretary responded.

“Get in a call to Dr. Phelps.” Sheriff Davidson sighed. “I have a feeling we’re going to need her.”

“On it, sir.”

Hank managed to wrangle Trisha into a room and put her in a chair. Flexing his fingers, he walked around the desk and took a seat himself. He looked at the suspect. Her dark, stringy hair was plastered to her wet face and thick lines of mascara smeared across her skin. Her skinny shoulders shook as she wept, and for a moment, he felt bad for her. Obviously, something had driven her over the deep end to behave this way.

I’m just glad Bella isn’t here to witness all this. At that thought, he felt a small pang of sorrow. With the case solved, he’d go back to working in the next town over. Even though it wasn’t far, it would make seeing Bella difficult. And after that kiss they shared, he wasn’t quite ready to let her go yet.

Sheriff Davidson came in, closing the door behind him. He set a steaming Styrofoam cup on the desk in front of Trisha, then held out his hand to Hank. Letting out a long breath, Hank handed over the keys to the cuffs. If Bill was comfortable letting her go, Hank would trust that, but this woman definitely seemed like a flight risk.

“There now, Miss Trisha,” the sheriff said in a gravelly tone. “You just have a drink of this and settle on down.”

Trisha glared at him, but took the offering after rubbing her wrists for a moment.

Hank refused to feel bad. If she hadn’t fought so hard, the cuffs wouldn’t have hurt her.

Bill sat next to Hank with a tired grunt. “Now, Trisha, I’ve known you your whole life. Suppose you tell me exactly what’s going on.”

“Don’t I get a phone call or lawyer or something?” she demanded.

Hank leaned back and stayed silent. Bill obviously had history with this woman and it would be best to let him work it out.

The sheriff nodded slowly. “You are entitled to a lawyer...if you want one.” He tilted his head. “Do you feel you need one, sweetheart? No one here is trying to hurt you. We just want answers.”

Trisha’s bottom lip trembled and Hank was hard-pressed to stay strong. He hated it when women cried, even if they were criminals. Or accused criminals. I guess we haven’t actually charged her with anything yet.

She sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “It doesn’t matter,” she mumbled forlornly. “It’s all over now anyway.”

“Tell us about it,” Sheriff Davidson encouraged. “And then we’ll get you whatever help you need.”

Hank was surprised by the grandfatherly way this man was handling the situation. Yes, the town was small and he probably knew just about everyone, but with as many years in the force as Bill had had, Hank would have expected him to be...hardened.

Trisha didn’t speak up, so Bill continued.

“Are you the one who’s been causing trouble at Gingerbread Inn?” he asked softly.

Trisha froze, then nodded. “Yes. I just...” She looked up with her red-rimmed eyes. “I just wanted Enoch to love me. He did.” Her grip on the cup tightened and Hank had a moment’s worry she would crush it. “He loved me before Claire’s granddaughter showed up. The skank.”

The door opened and everyone turned to look at who was intruding.

“I’m his partner, so I’m allowed to be here. Thank you,” Bella said sweetly to the officer standing at the door. He