His Every Defense (5 page)

“I was joking. I’m playing nursemaid right now.”

The detective raised his eyebrows and didn’t comment on that. Instead, he pulled out his notebook and the digital recorder, setting the black box in the center of the table.

“Mind if I record again?”

“Sure,” Kallie said.

Hunter eyed him. “What’s this all about?” he asked. “If you’re just here to tell us about the investigation, why are you recording?”

Phillips’s eyes were hard, like pieces of coral. He didn’t waver. “I always like to record any conversations that pertain to ongoing investigations. That way, there’s never any question about what was said. Also, I do have a few more questions to ask.”

Hunter smirked and gave Kallie a look. “I figured as much.”

Flipping through his notebook, Phillips began speaking. “I did a lot of legwork yesterday, and managed to find out a few interesting pieces of information.” He looked up at Hunter. “I spoke with Terrence Craven just after leaving here.”

“You did?” Kallie asked, as the mention of Terrence’s name sent fear spiraling through her body.

He nodded. “Terrence admitted to coming to your house and seeing Kallie, and having words with her. But he recounts the content of that conversation very differently.”

“And what does he say happened?”

“Mister Craven says that he came here because he was afraid that you were holding Scarlett against her will. He says that you’re a dangerous and abusive man, Mister Reardon. In fact, he levels the same charges at you, as what you’ve insisted about him.”

“This is insane,” Hunter said.

Kallie was shocked. “You don’t actually believe that, do you? Terrence threatened me—he spit into my car window. I was physically afraid of the man.”

“But you never called the police and reported it.”

“I already explained why.”

“You think she lied about Terrence threatening her? What about Scarlett? Did you call her?” Hunter asked, his voice incredulous.

The detective seemed unruffled by Hunter’s hostility. “I did. She was reluctant to go into much detail about the matter. She seemed afraid and reluctant to open up about her situation.”

“I wonder why.” Hunter shook his head and laughed.

“How long have you been supporting Scarlett financially?” Phillips asked.

“I hadn’t even seen her in years. Recently, she showed up and begged me to help her. She’d left Terrence and had nothing to her name, and she was afraid. So I let her stay with me for a little while, and then I got her an apartment and security detail.”

“You’re spending thousands and thousands of dollars on a woman who you claim not to have seen in years.”

“That’s right.”

“May I ask what you’re relationship is with her currently? Is it of a romantic nature?”

“No, it’s not. And I don’t see how questioning me helps you find Levi, the guy who assaulted her. Have you even looked for him?”

Kallie nodded, her stomach tight with anger. “I have to agree. Why are you interrogating Hunter? We told you who’s responsible.”

Phillips stood up from his chair and peered over the railing of the terrace.

Turning back to face them, the detective folded his arms. “I tried to track down Levi, the man who you described as having met at the gym.” Phillips paused, as if trying to phrase things accurately. “I was unable to find any trace of such a person. There was no record of him as having a membership at the gym, and no witnesses have come forward who know him or have ever seen him.”

Kallie was stunned. “Are you sure?”

The detective shrugged. “I dug into your cell phone records, and the texts that went back and forth that day between you and this man, led only to a temporary cell phone that appears to have been bought with cash. In other words, it leads nowhere.”

“You’ve got nothing, so you came here to rattle my cage,” Hunter said. “Isn’t that right?”

The detective laughed derisively. “The truth is, your attitude is what first caused me to question the veracity of Miss Young’s story—and yours as well.”

“Did you do as much digging into Terrence’s rap sheet as you did everything to do with me and Kallie?”

“Terrence Craven doesn’t have a record.” Phillips paced a few steps nearer the table. “And after speaking with him, we checked his alibi for the night of Kallie’s assault and it’s rock solid.”

“Of course it is,” Hunter muttered.

“What about you?” Phillips asked.

“What about me?”

“Where were you the night Kallie was assaulted?”

Hunter didn’t speak for a long moment. “I was here, at my house, working.”

“Anyone who can corroborate your whereabouts?”

Kallie laughed. “This is ridiculous. I saw Levi. I remember seeing him clear as day.”

The detective glanced over at her. “I’m very concerned about you, Miss Young.

I was wondering if perhaps you wouldn’t like to come with me? I can take you wherever you’d like to go—wherever you’d feel safest.”

Kallie was furious, but she tried to keep her calm. “I feel safest with Hunter.

That’s why I came here with him. Do you think he forced me to come stay with him under threat of death?”

Detective Phillips didn’t laugh. Didn’t even crack a smile, to be precise. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I’ll tell you this. Mister Craven might not have an arrest record, but Mister Reardon certainly does.”

Kallie glanced at Hunter and saw his lips tighten.

“Hunter?” she said.

“Yes, I’ve been arrested,” he said sharply.

“An assault charge from about two years ago,” Phillips replied.

“It was a stupid bar brawl.”

“You broke a man’s jaw.”

Hunter shook his head. “I never said I was perfect. It was a stupid, idiotic fight and I regret it. But it certainly doesn’t mean I’d assault my girlfriend.”

“Be that as it may, it does give me pause. After speaking with Terrence Craven, I’ve started to wonder if perhaps you didn’t simply sling accusations at him that were more fitting to have been placed at your own feet, Mister Reardon.”

“This is insane.”

“I should probably go,” Phillips said. “I’m going to keep looking for leads, but I think that it will be difficult to find anything meaningful, given what I’ve encountered so far.”

“Great detective work,” Hunter sneered. “Keep it up.”

“I will, you can be sure. Miss Young,” he said, and handed her his card. “Please call if you need anything. The offer still stands.” His eyes shifted to Hunter and then back to her again. “You don’t have to be afraid of the repercussions,” he added.

“I won’t be using this,” Kallie told him. “And you’ve insulted us with a lot of empty accusations. The man who assaulted me is Levi. Maybe it’s a fake name but he’s a real person. And what I told you about Terrence was completely true.”

Detective Phillips left soon after that, and Kallie and Hunter watched him drive away, neither of them speaking as they watched him go.

***

Hunter had been quiet after the detective left the house. Kallie, not wanting to upset him further (and feeling some degree of responsibility for the whole thing), kept to herself.

She began reading another script, just to pass the time.

About half way through, Hunter interrupted her. “Hey, want to get out of here for a little while?” he asked.

She looked up from her manuscript. “Where to?”

“Grab a bite to eat—there’s a great place right on the water…”

“I’m starving,” she said. “Sounds perfect.”

Hunter glanced back at the manuscripts she’d left on the table. “How are you enjoying your temp job as my script reader? Is it everything you’d hoped it would be?”

“And more,” she said. “Actually, I do like it. It’s fun.”

“Good. I’ve got thousands of them, so you’ll never run out of fun things to do at my house.”

They got in his car (Kallie had some difficulty, but with the seat all the way back, she found she could extend her leg comfortably enough). As they began driving, she rolled her window down and enjoyed the fresh air streaming through.

Before long, they were at the restaurant, seated outside on a beautiful deck overlooking the water. The sun was casting shadows across half of the bay and it was like something out of a postcard.

Hunter smiled at her as she looked around. The wind whipped Kallie’s hair across her face and she tried unsuccessfully to put it back in place.

“You’re gorgeous,” he said.

“This wind isn’t doing me any favors.”

“You don’t need any favors. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever seen, Kallie.”

She laughed and looked down, having trouble taking the compliment.

When the waiter came to the table, Hunter ordered them Caesar salads and Porterhouse steaks, cooked medium, and a bottle of red wine.

“You’re going to love this food,” he told her when the waiter departed. “This place is a local treasure.”

Kallie unfolded her napkin. “I wouldn’t care if you fed me horse right about now.”

Hunter’s puzzled and slightly horrified expression made her laugh.

The waiter came along with their food, and as Hunter had promised, it was magnificent. Kallie didn’t know if it was because she was so hungry, or if the fresh air and the scenery made it seem better than it was—but she couldn’t think of a meal she’d enjoyed this much in a long time.

The conversation was light, as they talked a little about Hunter’s movie company and how he’d founded it with some of the money he’d made off Blue Horizon’s success.

“And then I was lucky enough to come across a little script called The Visitors,” he said, sipping his red wine. “We made it for a song—ultra low budget.”

“What does that mean?” Kallie asked. “I don’t know a thing about movie budgets.”

“We made it for just under a million dollars.”

“That sounds like a lot to me,” she said. She took a long sip of wine, enjoying the warmth it created as it went down her throat and settled in her stomach.

“It sounds like a lot but it really isn’t,” Hunter told her. His dark eyes looked directly into hers and she felt that spark of attraction and recognition. She was hardly able to focus on his comments.

“I guess movies are expensive,” she said, trying to meet his intense gaze.

“Most of them cost at least eight or ten million these days. The Visitors cost under a million and ended up taking Cannes and Sundance by storm. We partnered with DreamWorks and the film got wide release.”

Kallie nodded. “I remember seeing the commercials for it.”

“You never saw the film?”

She shook her head. “No. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “Maybe I’ll show you a screener when we get home.”

“I’d like that.” Kallie had a small bite of steak. “So, the film was a huge success?”

“Well beyond my wildest dreams.”

“Kind of like your book.”

He nodded, his expression conflicted. “Yes. I seem to be lucky in that way.”

“It’s amazing, Hunter. People would die to have that kind of success.”

Her comment seemed to stun him momentarily. He almost flinched as the words came out of her mouth. She watched some of the color drain from his face, and he grew quiet, distant.

She’d seen that look before. “Hunter?”

He looked up at her with haunted eyes. “I’m fine,” he said. “I just…Give me a second.” And then he got up and left the table.

She watched him walk away, and wondered if he’d even be back.

Kallie played with her food, but she’d lost all appetite. Replaying the conversation, she had a hard time even knowing exactly what had made him suddenly so emotional. It was as though he couldn’t stand the fact that he was successful.

It didn’t make any sense.

A couple of minutes later, Hunter returned. He sat down, flashing a quick but superficial smile that she didn’t believe.

“Are you okay?” she said.

“Yeah. I think maybe something I ate disagreed with me, though.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and threw it on his plate. “I already settled the check. Are you ready to go home now?”

“Back to Red and Nicole’s or—“

He gave her a surprised look. “Of course not. Back with me.”

“Oh.” A feeling of relief flooded her. “I thought maybe you wanted to get rid of me.

“Not at all.” He grabbed her crutches from nearby and then walked slowly beside her as she made her way to the exit.

Finally, they were back in his car and driving home. Kallie was kind of buzzed and tired from the wine and the conversation. As the car hummed, she lay back in her seat and relaxed. Soon, her eyelids were drooping, closing and opening.

Flashes of the road, the car, then blackness. Then she opened her eyes a moment and glanced at Hunter, who looked at her and smiled kindly. And then her eyes closed once more.

She was asleep for an unknown time, and then suddenly she was jerked awake by a sudden movement.

Her eyes snapped open and she turned to find Hunter staring into his rearview mirror, and intense look on his face. His eyes were riveted by whatever it was he was seeing.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Something woke me up.”

“Sorry. I just tried to lose whoever it is that’s following us.”

Suddenly, Kallie was wide-awake and her senses were on high alert. She could feel the blood pounding in her ears. “Someone’s following us?”

Hunter’s eyes were looking at the road one moment, than the rearview mirror the next, alternating. He sped up and the engine began to whine.

“It appears that way,” he said sharply.

“Maybe it’s a coincidence.”

“I don’t think so.” He was steering mainly with his left hand. Suddenly, he used his right hand to press a button and a compartment opened up just above the glove compartment, as if by magic. Hunter’s hand then dove into the compartment and emerged holding a large, sleek gun.

Kallie had never seen a handgun in real life.

Back in Ohio, at one of Sean’s friend’s house, they’d had a shotgun and one of Sean’s buddies had tried to shoot a tin can off a fence post. The recoil from the shotgun had knocked him onto his behind and set everyone laughing.

Even then, Kallie had wanted nothing to do with the thing.

“Hunter, why do you have that gun?” she cried.