Chapter Eleven
Cullen could feel the exhaustion all the way to his bones, and he figured it was the same for Leigh. They were both dragging when they walked into her house, nearly ten hours after they’d left to do the interview with Jimbo. What was supposed to have been a short trip had turned into a grueling ordeal. One that could have ended with Leigh and him dead.
Like Jimbo.
Despite their efforts to save him, Jimbo had died shortly after they’d arrived at the hospital. He hadn’t been able to tell anyone who’d put the two bullets in his chest that’d killed him. And with his house a total loss, his killer hadn’t left any evidence behind. In fact, he’d left nothing behind. The local cops hadn’t been able to find him or a vehicle he’d used to get to Jimbo’s. It was as if the guy had vanished like the smoke from the fire.
At least during the ten hours, Leigh’s deputies had done the interviews with Austin and Kali. According to the updates Leigh had gotten, neither had given any new info, but the interviews ticked off some necessary legal boxes. So had the searches of both Kali’s and her parents’ houses. Some blue dresses had been collected at both and had been sent to the lab.
“The bathroom’s there,” Leigh said, motioning toward the hall. “The guest room’s right next to it.” She glanced at his jeans and shirt that were stained with Jimbo’s blood. “I’ll see if I can find you something to wear while you wash those. The laundry room’s just off the kitchen.”
Cullen wasn’t sure if he wanted to think about why she’d have men’s clothes in her house, and he sure as heck wasn’t going to press on getting something from the Triple R. According to Mack, the ranch was still being processed as a crime scene, and the CSIs didn’t want anything removed until they were finished.
Leigh glanced down at her own clothes, at the blood there, and she groaned softly. It didn’t matter that Jimbo had been a thug with a long criminal history. A man was dead, and he’d almost certainly died because Alexa’s killer had wanted to tie up any loose ends.
But how had the killer known to go after Jimbo?
That was a question that’d been circling in Cullen’s mind. No doubt circling in Leigh’s, too.
“Help yourself to anything in the kitchen,” she added. “Once you’re done with your shower, let me know, and I’ll take one.”
Neither of them moved, and exhaustion was only part of the reason why. Cullen could practically feel the guilt coming off her.
“You couldn’t have saved Jimbo,” Cullen insisted.
“I could have if I’d realized the killer would go after him.” She muttered some profanity and then groaned. “I should have realized it. I should have asked the locals to provide him protection until I could get out to his place.”
He could have reminded her that she’d been embroiled in a murder investigation and that she was functioning on very little sleep. But she’d see that as part of the job so he saved his breath. Instead, he went to her and pulled her into his arms. Maybe it was the exhaustion playing into this again, but she didn’t resist. She went body to body with him and dropped her head on his shoulder.
Cullen knew she was allowing this because she needed some comfort, and there weren’t exactly a lot of people in Dark River who could offer her that. Heck, he needed what she was giving as well. It’d been a damn long day, and it felt good to stand there with her like this.
“Don’t kiss me,” she said. “I don’t have the willpower to do anything about it.”
Cullen managed to laugh. “That’s probably not something you should tell me.”
“Yes, it is,” Leigh argued. “Because underneath all that bad boy, you’re a decent guy.”
Well, hell. How could he kiss her after she’d said that? And yes, he had indeed been thinking about a kiss or two. Nothing more though. When they ended up having sex again, he wanted them to have enough energy to enjoy it. Still, Cullen settled for brushing a kiss on her forehead because there was indeed some bad boy beneath the decency.
The kiss caused her to chuckle a little, and she stepped back to meet his gaze. Mercy, she was beautiful even now with those tired eyes.
“You’re not thinking about sex, are you?” he asked, hoping that she’d managed to get a second wind.
“No.” The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile. A smile that quickly faded. “I was thinking about how the killer knew to go after Jimbo.”
So, her mind had indeed been toying with that.
“Let me change my clothes,” she added a moment later, “and then I’d like to hear your theories on how that could have happened.” She went into her bedroom but didn’t close the door all the way. “I’m thinking Alexa could have told her killer about Jimbo. Maybe she did that in passing, and then the killer might have decided that Alexa could have told Jimbo about him or her.”
Cullen could see that happening with Austin or Kali. Austin because he was having an affair with Alexa, and Kali because Alexa was her friend. He’d heard Leigh talking on the phone with Yancy, and the deputy had taken both Austin’s and Kali’s statements, and it’d be interesting to see if there was any connection to Jimbo.
When the killer was finally identified and locked up, Cullen knew he was also going to have to deal with the impact of his best friend having a relationship with his ex. Even though Cullen had no longer loved Alexa, the affair still felt like a betrayal. One that he’d need to process. Process and then hopefully put aside since he had a lot of things to deal with. That included his feelings for Leigh.
“Or maybe Jimbo had a partner,” Leigh added a moment later, “and the partner killed him rather than risk Jimbo tying him or her to a murder.”
Despite the seriousness of the conversation, it took Cullen a moment to focus on something other than remembering Leigh and her beautiful, tired eyes from moments ago. “Either of those are possible,” he said, leaning against the wall outside her door. “But Rocky would have gotten the preliminary report that your other deputy sent out. He knew you’d be earmarking any emails or texts between Alexa and Jimbo.”
He had no trouble hearing her quick sound of agreement which meant that had already occurred to her.