The Only Witness. Laura Scott
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might go,” Miles persisted, interrupting her thoughts. “He must have some sort of hobby.”
“Women.”
Miles blinked. “Excuse me?”
She pressed her lips together in a firm line. “The only hobby Travis has is going out with women. Fidelity isn’t his strong suit.”
Miles winced as he realized that explained their divorce. Paige deserved so much better than a man who would cheat on her. “Do you know who he’s seeing now?”
Paige let out a harsh laugh. “I caught a glimpse of a tall blonde the last time I saw him, but the way he goes through women, I wouldn’t bank on the possibility she’s still in the picture. He likes them pretty and brainless.”
“Abby?” Miles gave her daughter a gentle smile. “Do you know the name of your daddy’s girlfriend?”
The little girl shook her head and Paige let out a sigh of relief. She’d encouraged Travis not to introduce a string of women to Abby and it seemed like he might have actually honored her request for once.
Then again, he hadn’t been alone with Abby for the past six weeks. She frowned, thinking back to when she’d last seen Travis. Maybe three weeks ago? Yeah, that was it. She’d driven to Sci-Tech because his child support check had been late. Travis had come out to meet her in the parking lot to give her the payment and the tall, beautiful blonde had accompanied him. As soon as he’d given her the check, the two of them had headed to his car, obviously going out on a date.
Had he introduced them? She never paid much attention, unsure why Travis felt the need to show off his latest girlfriend. Each time he did that, she was reminded about how glad she was that he was no longer her husband. Yet he was still Abby’s father...
Then it came to her. “Sasha.” At the surprise in Miles’s eyes, she clarified, “The blonde’s name was Sasha. Sorry, but I don’t think he gave me a last name. Or if he did, I didn’t pay any attention.”
“Great. At least it gives us someplace to start.”
She brushed strands of damp hair away from Abby’s face, grateful to note that the little girl’s body had relaxed, the earlier fear of the computer seeming to have vanished. “Let’s get some sleep first, okay?”
Abby lifted her head and gestured to the bathroom. Paige understood and helped Abby down from the bed. Taking her hand, Paige helped her to use the bathroom then wash up. Abby drank a full cup of water before she turned and opened the bathroom door.
The lamp was still on in the corner, but Miles’s computer wasn’t anywhere to be found. He was sitting on the side of the bed, finishing up a phone call, as they emerged.
“Learn something new?” she asked when he glanced over at them.
“Not yet.”
She couldn’t help wondering if he’d tell her, even if he had a lead. From what she saw on TV, the police never wanted to talk much about their investigations. She tucked Abby into bed and sat down beside her.
“Let’s say our prayers, okay?”
Abby looked up at her and placed her hands together. But she didn’t speak, so Paige recited the bedtime prayer in a low voice. When she finished, Paige leaned over and pressed a tender kiss to Abby’s cheek.
“I love you.”
Abby didn’t say the words back, the way she normally would, but she did kiss her cheek. Paige’s eyes went misty as Abby grabbed Ellie beneath her arm and snuggled into the covers.
“Sweet dreams,” Paige murmured.
A faint smile flickered on her daughter’s face as her eyes drifted closed. Paige gazed at Abby’s face for several long minutes, amazed at the change in her demeanor since Miles had partially figured out what had frightened her so badly.
Maybe now that at least part of the secret was out, her little girl would be able to find a sense of peace.
And if Abby still wasn’t talking in the morning, she’d insist that Miles take her to see a child psychologist to get the help she needed. The detective seemed like a good guy, someone she could count on to do the right thing.
At least, she hoped so.
* * *
“Paige?” Miles kept his voice in a low whisper so he wouldn’t wake Abby. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
She looked up at him, then rose to her feet, edging around the bed to come over to his side of the room. There wasn’t a lot space, so he backed his chair against the door so she could sit in the chair beside him. She was so close, their knees touched.
“What?” Her eyes were wide behind her glasses. “You think Travis knows something that got that man killed and you’re worried about him?”
Yeah, he was, but not exactly the way she thought. Miles cleared his throat. “I hate to ask you this, but could you give me a list of all his girlfriends? At least, the ones you know about?”
She dropped her gaze to the floor, her mouth pressed into a tight line. “It’s a long list. I doubt I’d get a tenth of them right.”
He hated seeing the self-doubt in her eyes, and wanted to deck Travis Olson for making this gorgeous woman feel as if she hadn’t been good enough to keep him. “Anything you can remember would be great. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
“Fine.” She picked up a pen and began writing on the motel stationery. After a few minutes she dropped the pen and pushed the note containing five women’s names toward him. “These are the only ones I remember.”
“Thanks.” He folded the note in half and placed it in his shirt pocket.
“Do you think Travis is all right?”
“I’m not sure.” He couldn’t bring himself to lie to her. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep looking for him.”
“All right, but you’re not—leaving us alone to do that, are you?”
One corner of his mouth quirked up. “No, you’re stuck with me. Unless you have friends or relatives you’d like to stay with for a few days?”
“Not really. My parents are dead and I’m an only child. I have an elderly great-aunt who lives in Arizona, but she’s in one of those senior living apartments and they don’t allow kids to stay there.” She sighed. “Besides, what if whoever tried to shoot us comes back? I wouldn’t want to put anyone else in danger.”
He couldn’t argue with that logic. “Don’t stress, Paige. I’m here for you. We’ll figure out our next steps in the morning, okay?”
“Okay.” She twisted her hands together in her lap for a moment. “Miles?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for saving our lives tonight.”
The urge to pull her into his arms was strong and he didn’t like it. Why was this single mom getting to him like this? He wasn’t like Marc, looking to settle down with a wife and family.
Yet there was something about Paige’s strength and courage that reminded him a bit of Dawn’s battle with cancer. He couldn’t help but admire the way Paige cared for her daughter.
He reached out to put his hand over hers, giving a gentle squeeze. “You’re welcome. Now try to get some sleep.”
She held his hand for a long moment, then stood and made her way back to her daughter’s bedside. He switched off the lamp, staring blindly through the darkness.
Miles didn’t have a good feeling about Paige’s ex-husband and tried to think of where he might be. Hiding out somewhere? Or was it possible Abby had actually seen something bad happening to her father? It had seemed as if he was getting through to the little girl, and hoped to try again in the morning.
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