Read Cavanaugh Hero for Free Online Page B

close to empty with only a couple of harried travelers seated at tables for one, looking to unwind.
    The ambience—semidarkness—was either soothing or depressing, depending on the point of view of the person taking it in. Charley found it depressing. The thought of sitting on a stool at the bar, ruminating over a half-filled glass of alcohol only made it more so.
    The less-than-genuine smile on Melissa’s carefully made-up face widened as she looked up when Declan walked into the lounge. It was obvious to Charley that although both of them were approaching the bar at an equal pace, Melissa only saw him.
    It was like watching a predator come to life, Charley thought. Even Melissa’s strawberry-blond, corkscrew curls seemed to become bouncier.
    “Hi, handsome, what can I get you?” Melissa asked in a husky voice that Charley thought was probably more suitable for someone making an obscene phone call, which she wouldn’t have put past Melissa.
    “A few answers,” Declan replied, the width of his smile matching hers.
    Except on him, Charley had to admit, the smile looked rather seductive—make that very seductive. It was obvious that Melissa was aware of it.
    “How about we start with ‘yes’?” Melissa suggested, leaning in as close as she could to him, given that there was a bar between them. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that she was flirting with him for all she was worth and it was only partially to get him to spend money at the bar.
    In her mind, Melissa was probably already going home with him.
    This was the woman who had gotten her hooks into her brother, who had taken him for everything she could, then tossed him aside, filleted and aching. For two cents, Charley would have loved to sink her fist into that annoying face.
    It was a struggle to hold her tongue and not tell the woman to drop the act and behave like a responsible person. For all she knew, to Melissa, this was her idea of a responsible person. The woman had the IQ of a dirty shoelace.
    Declan appeared unmoved by the woman’s blatant flirtation, although he remained friendly. “How about, where were you last night?”
    Melissa shrugged dismissively, as if that was of no consequence. “No place special. But I can be anywhere you want me to be tonight.”
    Okay, enough was enough. Any more of this and she was going to be nauseous.
    “We need you to be more specific than ‘no place special,’” Charley interjected.
    The pretty forehead furrowed and a look of annoyance crossed her face as she regarded her. “Why?”
    “It’s not your turn to ask questions yet,” Charley informed her curtly.
    The furrowed brow became more so as Melissa stared at her. “Don’t I know you from someplace?” she asked, struggling to remember.
    “That’s another question,” Charley pointed out, determined not to give Melissa a scrap of information.
    Anger etched a line into her features. “Listen, you—”
    “That’s ‘Detective’ You,” Charley corrected wryly. “And we still need to know where you were last night—and early this morning,” she added since her brother’s time of death hadn’t been established yet.
    “You’re police?” Melissa asked, the last of the friendliness evaporating from her voice.
    Declan had taken a backseat for a moment, amused at the exchange between the two women. He had a feeling that Charley had it in her to be a real spitfire if she wanted to be.
    But since the woman behind the bar had asked a legitimate question, he decided maybe he should step up before the situation really spun out of control.
    “Afraid so,” he told her, taking out his identification for her viewing. “Detectives Cavanaugh and Randolph,” he said, introducing himself to her.
    “Terrific,” Melissa muttered. The brightness had definitely left her smile. “Did Matt send you to hassle me?” she demanded.
    “Why would he do that?” Declan asked, his voice marginally interested.
    “Because I broke up with the loser,”