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Authors: Alexandrea Weis
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up my drink and let the sarcastic comment circling my mind die on my lips.
Dallas sighed. “I know, you don’t trust anyone. But you will learn to trust me, Nicci. Sooner or later, you will have to.”
Chapter 6
A cab dropped us in front of Saks Fifth Avenue a little after one o’clock. Dallas, dressed in his gray suit and a long black leather coat, seemed to attract the attention of several women who passed us on the street. He made sure he kissed me tenderly on the cheek as a few bystanders looked on.
I felt a bit surprised at my disappointment in knowing that his kiss was more for appearances than for me. But I had a part to play, I reminded myself.
We started up Fifth Avenue, peering into several different store windows as we mingled with the rest of the holiday shoppers. Dallas held my hand for a bit of the way and would turn to me and smile when he knew someone was watching.
“So whom are you shopping for?” he finally asked.
“My father, my uncle, Val, Aunt Hattie, and Uncle Ned.” I paused, thinking happily about my family. “And then there is Colleen.”
“Your cousin? The one who was married to Eddie Fallon?”
I laughed. “I’m not sure I would’ve called it a marriage.”
Dallas smiled playfully. “You’re the one who convinced Eddie to marry Colleen after she got pregnant as a result of what I believe David called a ‘rendezvous’ in Eddie’s BMW.”
“More like my cousin’s master plan. Colleen always had carried a serious torch for Eddie. Not long after the wedding, Eddie beat Colleen so badly it caused her to have a miscarriage.”
“Sounds like Eddie Fallon was more than a little frustrated because he was not married to you.”
I examined his impassive face before me and wondered what he was truly thinking at that moment. Sometimes it was hard to comprehend how much this man knew about my life.
Dallas glanced about the busy street. “A man who beats a woman is a man with a problem. From what I’ve learned of him, Eddie Fallon seems to have many problems.”
I thought of Eddie’s red mop of hair and his notoriously short fuse. Some of my earliest memories of Eddie had been of him getting into fights with the other kids in the schoolyard.
I looked over at a store window filled with mannequins playing in fake snow. “I’ve heard he’s a heavy drinker now, and my uncle told me he gambles a lot. It seems Eddie is trying to follow in his late father’s footsteps. Gerald Fallon was a disreputable man known for his gambling, drinking, and womanizing.” I shrugged as I turned from the store window. “At least Colleen got out of her marriage to Eddie with a hefty divorce settlement. She has been living the high life since then with boyfriend number four, or is it five? I can’t keep up.”
“What’s she like, your cousin?”
I rolled my eyes. “Always in trouble.”
Colleen was constantly being rescued from one predicament or another. Either she was drinking too much, staying out past her curfew, failing out of school, or sneaking off with hormonally challenged boys who happened to have the IQ of a gnat. For Colleen, life was a soap opera filled with too much insecurity and too little sense, all accentuated by a hefty dose of Jack Daniel’s.
“Are you and Colleen close?” Dallas inquired.
“We were close before David, and then I moved to Hammond and we kind of lost touch.” I had not realized until that moment how much I had missed having Colleen in my life.
Dallas stopped in front of a jewelry store and admired the window display. “And the rest of your family, what are they like?”
I noted how his eyes lingered for a moment on a rather elegant gold key chain shaped like a yacht.
“Is this a formal questioning, Mr. August?”
“Nicci,” he said, rubbing his gloved hand over the back of his neck. “I need to know about your relationships with these people and about your history with them. It will help me weed through my list of suspects.” He
Dallas sighed. “I know, you don’t trust anyone. But you will learn to trust me, Nicci. Sooner or later, you will have to.”
Chapter 6
A cab dropped us in front of Saks Fifth Avenue a little after one o’clock. Dallas, dressed in his gray suit and a long black leather coat, seemed to attract the attention of several women who passed us on the street. He made sure he kissed me tenderly on the cheek as a few bystanders looked on.
I felt a bit surprised at my disappointment in knowing that his kiss was more for appearances than for me. But I had a part to play, I reminded myself.
We started up Fifth Avenue, peering into several different store windows as we mingled with the rest of the holiday shoppers. Dallas held my hand for a bit of the way and would turn to me and smile when he knew someone was watching.
“So whom are you shopping for?” he finally asked.
“My father, my uncle, Val, Aunt Hattie, and Uncle Ned.” I paused, thinking happily about my family. “And then there is Colleen.”
“Your cousin? The one who was married to Eddie Fallon?”
I laughed. “I’m not sure I would’ve called it a marriage.”
Dallas smiled playfully. “You’re the one who convinced Eddie to marry Colleen after she got pregnant as a result of what I believe David called a ‘rendezvous’ in Eddie’s BMW.”
“More like my cousin’s master plan. Colleen always had carried a serious torch for Eddie. Not long after the wedding, Eddie beat Colleen so badly it caused her to have a miscarriage.”
“Sounds like Eddie Fallon was more than a little frustrated because he was not married to you.”
I examined his impassive face before me and wondered what he was truly thinking at that moment. Sometimes it was hard to comprehend how much this man knew about my life.
Dallas glanced about the busy street. “A man who beats a woman is a man with a problem. From what I’ve learned of him, Eddie Fallon seems to have many problems.”
I thought of Eddie’s red mop of hair and his notoriously short fuse. Some of my earliest memories of Eddie had been of him getting into fights with the other kids in the schoolyard.
I looked over at a store window filled with mannequins playing in fake snow. “I’ve heard he’s a heavy drinker now, and my uncle told me he gambles a lot. It seems Eddie is trying to follow in his late father’s footsteps. Gerald Fallon was a disreputable man known for his gambling, drinking, and womanizing.” I shrugged as I turned from the store window. “At least Colleen got out of her marriage to Eddie with a hefty divorce settlement. She has been living the high life since then with boyfriend number four, or is it five? I can’t keep up.”
“What’s she like, your cousin?”
I rolled my eyes. “Always in trouble.”
Colleen was constantly being rescued from one predicament or another. Either she was drinking too much, staying out past her curfew, failing out of school, or sneaking off with hormonally challenged boys who happened to have the IQ of a gnat. For Colleen, life was a soap opera filled with too much insecurity and too little sense, all accentuated by a hefty dose of Jack Daniel’s.
“Are you and Colleen close?” Dallas inquired.
“We were close before David, and then I moved to Hammond and we kind of lost touch.” I had not realized until that moment how much I had missed having Colleen in my life.
Dallas stopped in front of a jewelry store and admired the window display. “And the rest of your family, what are they like?”
I noted how his eyes lingered for a moment on a rather elegant gold key chain shaped like a yacht.
“Is this a formal questioning, Mr. August?”
“Nicci,” he said, rubbing his gloved hand over the back of his neck. “I need to know about your relationships with these people and about your history with them. It will help me weed through my list of suspects.” He
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