Suspicion by Christiane Heggan Page A

chores, looking relaxed and happy instead of tense and on guard as she was now.
      She leaned against the counter, her arms folded across her chest. "So what was so important that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning?"
      Mitch eased a hip onto a kitchen stool. "I was wondering if you had heard from your ex-husband."
      Although Kate had expected the question, had even prepared herself for it, the intensity of his gaze as he asked it threw her off. "No," she replied, trying to compensate her slight hesitation with a firm shake of her head. "Why would I?"
      "Because you’re an attorney. And the mother of his child. And because, according to your ex-father-in-law, you’re probably the only person on earth Eric truly trusts."
      This time, she was able to manage a small laugh. "I’m afraid Douglas is overestimating Eric’s opinion of me. The truth is, my ex-husband and I are barely civil to each other. If it wasn’t for our daughter, we wouldn’t be talking at all."
      "When did you hear from him last?" he asked_.
      "I couldn’t say exactly." Conscious of his eyes on her, she picked up a glass from the counter and put it in the dishwasher. "Weeks."
      "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?"
      "None whatsoever," she replied lightly.
      "Does he have any close friends? Someone who might be willing to hide him for a while?"
      "Eric has lots of friends, all as shallow as he is. I doubt any of them would take such a risk."
      He watched her hand as she closed the dishwasher. "Yet he’s managed to elude an entire police force for the past seventeen hours."
      "Believe me, Detective, no one is more surprised by that than I. I never thought of Eric as a man with strong survival instincts."
      "Desperation can be a powerful motive."
      Kate’s eyes narrowed as she measured the man across from her. He was a tough cop, and a smart one. Did he really believe Eric was guilty, or was he just fishing? "You’re barking up the wrong tree, Detective. Eric is no criminal. Except for a few traffic tickets, he’s never done anything even remotely unlawful."
      Mitch’s lips twitched in a wry smile. "Your loyalty is admirable, Mrs. Logan, but the fact remains that the evidence against him is staggering. Unless of course, you don’t consider blackmail a reason for murder."
      "That’s assuming he was being blackmailed."
      His laugh came easily. "Come on. Counselor. Gina Lamont didn’t record their little interlude out of sentimentality. And she didn’t come to Eric’s office two days later to discuss the marketing of semiconductors."
      So Abigail hadn’t wasted any time in notifying the police about Gina’s visit to Hollbrook Industries, Kate thought. "That’s circumstantial evidence, and you know it," she stated. "It will never stand up in court."
      "You sound as if you were planning to represent Eric."
      "I am representing him, Detective." She folded her arms. "Is that a problem for you?"
      "Nope." He continued to scrutinize her with unnerving intensity. "Tell me something, though. If he’s innocent as you claim, why isn’t he coming forward to defend himself instead of hiding?"
      "You would have to know Eric to understand that. He doesn’t handle problems well. Faced with a difficult choice, he’ll invariably choose the easiest option rather than the wisest. In his mind, staying in hiding while I solve his problem seems like the perfect solution."
      Although she sounded sincere enough, something about the way she had averted her eyes earlier told Mitch his hunch had been right after all. She had heard from Eric. She might even know where he was. He could have pushed her, thrown his weight around a little, but he didn’t. She was an attorney. She knew the risks of protecting a fugitive as well as he did. And besides, he wasn’t all that certain that Logan was his man.
      An angry voice ripping through the air jolted him out of his