Proof of Innocence. Lenora Worth

but Erin wasn’t sure she could trust even Chase. The last time they’d seen each other, on the very evening this nightmare had taken place, he hadn’t been very friendly. And why should he be kind toward her? He probably hated her for breaking his heart when they were so young.

      But then just about everybody else along the Beltway and possibly even in the entire metro area surrounding DC hated her right now. Erin had been on the run for months. She knew running made her look guilty, but she’d had no other choice since she’d witnessed the murder of Michael Jeffries, and she’d almost been killed herself. The authorities thought she was the killer and until she could prove otherwise, Erin had to stay hidden.

      The media had already condemned her with a relentless assault that had her face plastered all over television news reports and newspaper headlines. Whole hours of cable news had been dedicated to dissecting her life. How could anyone stand up to such scrutiny?

      The reports had at first painted her as an allegedly scorned ex-girlfriend who’d possibly murdered prominent Washington lawyer Michael Jeffries because he’d broken up with her. None of which was true. Michael had been too caught up in his crusade against corruption to even have time to break up with her, and besides, their relationship was mostly for “show,” to please their political families. Tired of the ruse, she’d actually gone to dinner with Michael on that cold night to break things off with him. But Michael had been too upset about another situation in his life for her to tell him it was over between them, publicly and privately. He’d found out he might have a young relative living in a foster home and he’d insisted he had to get home and do some more digging for the truth.

      Erin still remembered Michael’s frantic attempts to explain the situation. “I can’t tell you everything, Erin. I don’t want to accuse anyone of wrongdoing, but I will find out the truth. I think I can prove I’m right. I need more time. And I’m going to talk to my father and make him tell me the truth.”

      They’d parted ways, and Erin had decided to go for a walk.

      Later, concerned about his state of mind, she’d searched for Michael and found him at his father’s estate outside the city.

      At least the news reports had one thing right about that night. Michael had been murdered.

      And she knew who’d killed him because she’d witnessed the whole horrible scene. But no one would believe her if she told the truth—that Congressman Harland Jeffries had killed his own son, had worked to pin the murder on Erin and had tried to have her killed, too.

      Now Erin Eagleton was a wanted woman.

      And if she couldn’t get away from the man chasing her so she could prove her innocence, she’d soon be going to jail.

      Or—she’d soon be dead.

      * * *

      Chase Zachary held the delicate cashmere scarf to his nose, the lingering scent of the expensive floral perfume making him remember the touch of her lips on his. Chase remembered way too many things about the girl he’d loved and lost years ago in high school. But right now he’d give anything to find Erin once again.

       Help me, Lord. Help me to find her before it’s too late.

      She was out here in these woods, lost and afraid. Chase had been searching for her for close to five months, while on duty and often on his own time, too. He’d never believed Erin capable of murdering Congressman Jeffries’s son Michael and shooting the congressman, so he’d been trying to find enough evidence to disprove the original theory that had her as the scorned girlfriend who’d been at the scene of the crime. So many things about this case didn’t add up, but at least now they had a witness who said the congressman had shot his son.

      That witness, an aide named Leon Ridge, was now in custody. After being caught a few days ago after planting a bomb, he’d finally caved and explained that the congressman had accidentally shot Michael and then, in an effort to cover it up, he’d had Leon shoot him so he could insist that some unseen assailant had attacked both of them. And the congressman had hinted that Erin might be involved. Crazy, but Leon had done a good job following orders. The congressman’s injuries had been severe enough to make it look real, but Leon Ridge swore his version was the truth.

      “And what about Erin Eagleton?” Chase had asked the bouncer of an aide. Rumor around the city was that Leon’s only qualification involved handling delicate matters for the congressman.

      “I don’t know anything about her,” Leon had retorted. Then he’d started fidgeting.

      “You mean you haven’t heard all the news reports alleging she was the shooter? She’s missing, in case you didn’t know.”

      “I don’t watch the news.”

      “Right. But you probably know that Congressman Jeffries is wanted on corruption charges. He’s missing. Could have left the country.”

      Shock had turned Leon’s skin a sickly pale.

      The captain had stood up. “Let us know when you’re ready to tell us what really happened that night, Ridge. Think about it long and hard because until we find Erin Eagleton and the congressman, you’re our main suspect.”

      “Hey, I told you the truth. The congressman accidentally shot his son.”

      “And you were forced to shoot him at his request to make it look like an unknown assailant did it,” Chase had reminded him. “That’s a tall tale, for sure.” Then he’d asked Leon Ridge the one question burning through him. “Was Erin at the congressman’s estate that night?”

      “Like I said,” Ridge had insisted in a quick rush of breath, “I don’t know anything about Erin Eagleton.”

      Ridge still maintained he was telling the truth, but Chase didn’t believe him. More like, he was covering his own hide until Erin turned up. Ridge had clammed up even more when two fancy lawyers had visited him.

      Now Erin was still out there on the run, afraid for her life. Chase needed to find her to tell her that they had new information that might clear her name.

      And he wanted to tell her that it had all started with a two-year-old boy.

      A maid named Rosa Gomez who worked for the congressman had been found dead the day before Michael Jeffries was shot. The congressman was wounded the night Michael died and at first claimed he hadn’t seen the shooter. Erin’s starfish necklace was found at the scene of the shooting—Chase had verified that since he’d seen her earlier on the night of the shooting. After that, everything pointed to Erin as a witness or person of interest, but no one had been able to find her.

      Then a kid named Tommy Benson from the All Our Kids foster home not far from the congressman’s estate confessed that he’d sneaked out that night and witnessed the congressman holding a gun. But the kid also said Michael was still alive when he was there. Tommy hadn’t seen Erin there. He didn’t even recognize her in a picture. Chase couldn’t imagine Erin arriving after that and committing such a cold-blooded crime. No way.

      But things were unraveling for the pompous congressman. The dead maid had left behind a little boy who carried the same scallop-shaped light brown birthmark as the congressman and his son Michael. Strong evidence that the rumors about the boy being Harland Jeffries’s son could be true. And maybe...it was one of the reasons Michael had been murdered. Congressman Jeffries stood to lose everything if he’d been having an affair with his maid and had a secret child whom he’d let languish in foster care.

      But would that alone force him to kill his adult son?

      The team had finally found evidence of corruption by the congressman...in his own meticulous records. They’d also had a break when they’d arrested several of his top aides, but no one wanted to talk. They’d planned to bring in Congressman Harland Jeffries on corruption charges and to question him about the murdered maid since the evidence was mounting on that one, too. But the congressman had fled. No one could locate him and Leon Ridge talked only about his version of what had happened the night Michael had died.