he let go of me, I locked myself in the bedroom and called the police.â
âYou didnât press charges,â he muttered.
âHe was in tears by the time the police got there. He swore it was the alcohol, that he didnât realize how much heâd had. He said he loved me, he couldnât believe heâd done such a thing. He begged me not to press charges.â She shook her head. âI should have. But I felt sorry for him. I always felt sorry for him. He had mental issues, but he wouldnât face that, and he wouldnât get help. I thought I could do something for him.â
âYou canât fix a broken mind,â Tony said heavily. âHe was obsessed with you.â
His tone intimated that he didnât understand why. She knew what Tony thought of her, because John had told her, time and again. Tony thought she was the most boring woman on earth, and heâd need to be drunk to want to touch her. Looking at his expression now, she was certain that John had been telling the truth. She was plain and prim and unexciting. It was a fact sheâd faced long ago.
She pushed back her coffee cup. âAfter that night, it got to the point that I couldnât walk out of my apartment without running into John. He said he was going to make sure that I didnât have any other man in my life, and he was going to watch me night and day. When he told those lies about me, and then started spending the dayin the library, it began jeopardizing my job. I finally decided that I had no other choice than to file stalking charges against him.â She ran a hand over the tight bun she kept her long brown hair in. âIt was what pushed him over the edge. I even knew that it wouldâitâs why I waited so long to do anything about the problem. He swore heâd get even, no matter what it took.â She looked tired, drained of life. âWhen I knew that he was dead, I was so ashamed, but all I could feel was a sense of relief. I was finally free of him.â
âBut you came to the funeral home,â he commented.
Her face tautened as she recalled Tonyâs attitude when heâd met her there. âYes. It was the guilt. I had to see him. I thought it might make amends, somehow.â
âAnd you found me, instead,â he replied, grimacing at her expression. âYou have to understand, all I had to go on was what John told me. And he told me a lot. He left me a letter, blaming you for his death. I had no reason to doubt him, at the time. Not until Frank told me the truth.â
Of course heâd believed his friend, she thought. It wouldnât have occurred to him that Millie wasnât a wild girl. He didnât know Millie. He didnât want to know her. It hurt, realizing that.
âIâm sorry for the way I reacted,â he said stiffly. âI didnât know.â
She shook her head. âNobody knew. I was harassed, blackmailed and slandered by him for years, and he madeeverybody think it was my own fault, that I encouraged him.â Her gaze was flat, almost lifeless. âHe was the most repulsive man Iâve ever known.â
He frowned. âHe was good-looking.â
She glanced up at him. âYou canât make people love you,â she said in a subdued sort of tone. âNo matter what you look like. He was coarse and crude, and ugly inside. Thatâs where it counts, you know. The outside might have been attractive. The devil, they say, was beautiful.â
âPoint taken.â
She finished her coffee. âWhere do I go now?â
âBack to your apartment. Iâm coming with you, to see what Iâll need for surveillance.â
She frowned. âSurveillance?â
He nodded. âI want cameras and microphones everywhere. Itâs the only way we can save your life.â
And in that moment, she realized, for the first time, just how desperate her situation really was.
M illieâs