Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins Read Free Book Online Page A

said nothin.
    But which po lice officer could I tell? Any one of em would just go straight to the chief, who was too close to the mayor.
    I shook my head. Nope. I couldn't talk to anyone a them.
    Which left only one person to look into this mess—at least for now, till I got some proof.
    Me.
    The sun was settin by the time I pulled to my feet. As I searched my refrigerator for somethin quick to eat, I knew what I had to do.
    If I got caught . . .
    Well. I didn't want to think bout that.

Chapter 8
Tully

    As I lay on the couch Mike came into the house to change for work. I tensed when he walked by, the air thick between us.
    I hadn't been outside all day. My neck was bruised.
    Without a word Mike headed for the bedroom.
    I closed my eyes. Not even married a year and look at me. How was I going to live like this? And after my baby was born, what then? Would Michael one day threaten his life too?
    I didn't even want to name my baby after his father anymore.
    Mike's footsteps approached. I pretended to sleep.
    "Tully." His voice cut down from the end of the sofa.
    I lay still.
    Mike slapped my foot. I jerked.
    "I know you ain't sleepin."
    I raised my head. "What?"
    Emotions rippled across his face. Anger . . . remorse . . . defiance. He stared at me, his mouth hard. "I want you to make sure all the doors are locked till I get home."
    "They're always locked."
    "You check em twice. Windows too."
    Was he trying to convince me he didn't kill Erika?
    "You hear?"
    "Yes."
    "And I don't want you goin to bed till I get home."
    "But I get so sleepy, you know that."
    "You don't have to get up in the mornin now and go to work. You can sleep late as you want. So sit up on the couch. And once it gets dark, take my gun from the nightstand and keep it beside you."
    Mike had taught me to shoot soon after we were married. He had some kind of pistol—I didn't even know what it was. But I knew how to load it and pull the trigger. These days there likely wasn't a home in Amaryllis that didn't have a gun.
    "Tully, I'm talkin to you."
    "I hear you. Okay."
    He put his hands on his hips. I could smell his last cigarette still lingering on his body. Who was I kidding—cigarette smell was everywhere in our house. I hated the smell of it. Why had I ever stood for that? Why hadn't I insisted he quit if he wanted to marry me?
    He fixed me with a steely gaze. "You think I killed her, Tully?" It was more of a challenge than a question.
    "Did you?"
    "No."
    We eyed each other.
    "Then why'd you come home late?"
    He shrugged. "Just extra work at the factory."
    Something at the factory—same excuse as when Carla Brewster was murdered. If he'd really worked overtime, it would show up on his paycheck. Not that he ever let me see it.
    "And your uniform?" Give me something, Michael. Something I can stake the rest of my life on.
    "I spilled stuff on it and had to change."
    If he'd just spilled something, where was the uniform? It would be his responsibility to wash it. And why did he nearly choke me to death?
    Mike ran his tongue below his upper lip. "As for that picture of me with Erika—ever hear of Photoshop? I wasn't with her. If she was pregnant—which I wouldn't doubt, knowin her—I didn't know anything about it. Sure wasn't my baby."
    Could that be true? I hadn't seen the picture for that long. Maybe it had been changed.
    Surely Michael saw the wild hope in my eyes. He nodded. "See. Told you."
    But the blood, Tully. The blood.
    "Okay."
    "That's it?" He scowled. "Just 'okay'? How bout 'I'm sorry I doubted you, Mike.'"
    I swallowed. "I'm sorry I doubted you."
    "Say it like you mean it."
    "I'm sorry I doubted you."
    Mike nodded, his lips twisting. "That's better." He turned to go. "See you tonight."
    I lay like a stone until the front door closed behind him.
    Not till the truck backed out of the driveway did I struggle to my feet. I headed into our kitchen and picked up a pair of plastic gloves from underneath the sink. Put them on. Then