Auf'd (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book Two)

Chapter 22

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Belinda didn't think. She hung up before Jonas said good-bye and grabbed her keys. While she drove, thoughts flitted through her head. Brooke. Dead. At Bennett's.

At Bennett's?

Belinda parked down the street from the hubbub around Bennett's house and walked the rest, waving her arms to get Jonas' attention. She could just make out his light brown hair between two uniformed officers. She was so consumed by the number of people around the scene that she didn't notice someone else she knew standing right there.

"What are you doing here?"

Belinda jumped, realizing Bennett was standing right next to her. "What are you doing here?" she echoed.

Bennett blinked. "It's my house."

"Right. Well, Jonas called to tell me what happened, so I just came." Belinda searched his face. His expression was vacant, but not in its usual neutral way. It was truly vacant, like he was in some sort of shock. "Are you okay?" She took a step closer. Bennett's gray eyes refocused. In that short span of time, they'd drifted away, getting all glassy.

"I'm fine." He sounded convinced, but Belinda wasn't.

Jonas ducked under the yellow tape around the house, smiling grimly. "You didn't have to come."

Belinda ignored him. She was there. It was too late. "What happened?" Bennett's eyes came back to her for a moment.

Jonas heaved a deep sigh. That wasn't like him and it worried Belinda. "Bennett was gone for a while, and when he got home, she was dead."

He was gone for a while. And Belinda knew where. Bennett was with her at the nursery, getting bombarded with her kidnapping problems. Belinda inhaled deeply, taking another good look at Bennett. His cheeks looked like paste. "Why was she here?" she asked carefully. It was a question she wasn't entirely convinced she wanted an answer to.

"I told her I'd help her." Bennett's voice sounded empty, like eye sockets on a skeleton. "Brooke came to me with a little problem."

Belinda could feel her cheeks start to flush as her heart rate increased. He'd done something to help her.

Jonas' eyes had lost the lingering amusement Belinda was used to seeing. They were just angry. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I already told you. I was protecting her." Bennett's eyes flickered over to Belinda before he finished his sentence.

Guilt stabbed her. He knew. He knew before the conversation at the nursery. Why didn't she think about that? He even told Belinda he'd been watching her all that time. Of course he knew she helped Brooke! And he'd done something to try and protect her.

"Well, you didn't protect her." Jonas spat. "She's dead!"

Bennett flinched. His eyes darted to Belinda briefly and then back to the pavement. He looked...defeated.

Belinda hugged her body, her legs feeling weighed down to the spot.

Jonas ran his hands through his hair. "Sometimes..." He reached behind his back, pulling out a pair of handcuffs from under his jacket.

Belinda watched in horror as Jonas cuffed Bennett. "What...what are you doing?"

Jonas looked at her sadly. It was killing him, she could see it. "Brooke was a suspect in a murder investigation. Bennett knowingly helped her hide and lied to the police-me-about it." He sounded hurt. "And he's our only suspect right now."