Disclaimer: see Chapter 1
A/N: Thanks, girls, for your beautiful words. I´m really glad you´ve liked the romantic interlude. It was the first time I wrote a bedroom scene and I wanted it to be special. I was in doubt as to how much of the story I should post today. In the end I decided to be generous and give you the rest of the story. So... here it is. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 12: Seeds of Doubt
´The house looks deserted. I´ve rung the bell several times but no one has answered. I´ll have a look at the surroundings... The red Beetle´s still there, which means my efforts have been in vain. The bitch´s stayed in Smallville despite everything.
I´ve got to be careful. I took too many risks yesterday and let my rage take control over me. The shooting was my final warning but nothing´s changed.´
Making love had changed everything between Chloe and Lex. He had distanced himself from her as soon as he had got out of bed and showered. The drive from the mansion to the centre of Smallville had been silent and uncomfortable, and when he parked the sleek sports car in front of the clothes shop, Chloe decided to speak up.
¨Lex... ¨ she said, fidgeting with her hand-made bag, ¨I haven´t asked for a commitment. ¨
¨You´re right. You haven´t, ¨ he said calmly, ¨but you deserve more than an illicit affair. ¨
¨I won´t ask for more than what you´re willing to give, Lex. I´d rather have whatever time we might spend together than live the rest of my life hiding for fear of getting hurt. ¨
¨You´ll be my undoing, Chloe Sullivan. You know that, don´t you? ¨he whispered next to her lips before leaning forward and kissing her thoroughly, oblivious of the surprised looks the Smallville citizens shot at them.
It was the first time the cool and reserved billionaire made a public display of his feelings. However, what made the event even more shocking was the fact that the lady he was kissing so passionately was none other than the daughter of the woman his own mother had been suspected of murdering.
Chloe got out of the exclusive boutique in Main Street and walked towards Lex´s silver Porsche, looking at him wearing her heart upon her sleeve. Her love for Lionel´s first-born was so transparent that the anonymous figure across the street had to struggle hard not to scream.
´They´ve left me no alternative but to punish them this time. I cannot let her ruin more lives. I won´t stand doing nothing while she repeats her mother´s mistakes. ´
¨Allow me, ¨said Lex, taking some of her shopping bags. ¨You´ve taken me up on my offer, ¨he smiled.
¨I´ll pay you back for the clothes as soon as they send me my cheque. ¨
¨That won´t be necessary... ¨he started, ¨but if it makes you feel more comfortable... ¨he continued for fear she considered his offer as payment for the night they had spent together.
¨I´m dying for a cup of coffee, ¨she responded, breaking the tension between them.
¨You´ve got to taste this, Lex. Mm... ¨she moaned, sliding the fork into her mouth and letting the chocolate cake with mousse enchant her tasting buds.
¨That cake´s making me jealous... ¨groaned Lex, leaning forward.
¨Ah no, Mister! If you´re dying for a piece of heaven, you should ask Lana for another portion because I´m not sharing mine. ¨
¨I´m not interested in the cake, Chloe, ¨he smirked.
¨You wouldn´t say that if you had tasted this, ¨she responded, closing her eyes.
¨Oh, but I have! Still, I think I derive more pleasure in watching you enjoy it than in me actually having a piece. ¨
¨Lex? ¨she asked, putting her coffee mug down on the table. ¨We need to find my mum´s diary. ¨
¨We don´t know if it exists, Chloe. We´ve only got Nell´s word, and it wasn´t found during the police search of the crime scene. ¨
¨I don´t trust Sheriff Ethan, ¨she said sober.
¨You believe he´s got the diary? ¨he asked, raising an eyebrow.
¨It wouldn´t be far-fetched, would it, taking into account he was obsessed with my mum? ¨
His conversation with Chloe at The Talon had planted the seeds of doubt in Lex, and he felt the sudden need to pay a visit to the irritating sheriff to get some answers. He didn´t feel comfortable leaving Chloe alone in the house where everything had happened, but she was adamant in her demand to let her face the demons on her own. The security detail he had assigned her would have to make do; he didn´t want to appear paranoid but he knew better than to take anything for granted.
Lex drove to the police station as a heavy storm was brewing on the horizon, and he parked the Porsche next to a patrol car when it started to drizzle. A lightning flashed in the sky followed closely by a loud thunder and Lex couldn´t help but remember how the most trying times of his life had been signalled by storms and hurricanes.
He ran the short distance that separated the car park from the station, protecting his head from the rain with his long overcoat. Once inside, he walked to the reception and asked for Sheriff Ethan.
¨Is he in his office? ¨he asked the agent on duty.
¨Yes, but... Wait, Mr Luthor! ¨exclaimed the officer when Lex marched to Ethan´s office and opened the door without bothering to knock.
¨We´ve got to talk, ¨he snapped threateningly.
¨I´ll call you back, ¨said the sheriff on the phone, looking at Lex disdainfully. ¨I´ve got a problem to deal with, ¨he added, putting the receiver down.
¨I´m sorry, boss. I couldn´t stop him, ¨said the younger officer.
¨It´s OK, Davis. Shut the door when you leave. I´ll see to Mr Luthor alone. ¨
¨What is it you´re doing about the break-in and the shooting at Miss Sullivan´s house? ¨queried Lex gravely.
¨Where are your manners, Luthor? No chit-chat? No pleasantries? I must say I miss the old devil... ¨
¨Would you just cut the bullshit, Ethan, and tell me what your people are doing? ¨
¨We´re investigating just as we would in the event of any other crime. ¨
¨Have you found anything yet? ¨
¨Not much. The casings we retrieved at the house were shot by a .38. ¨
¨What about Miss Sullivan´s security? Are you doing anything about that? ¨
¨She´s got you for that, hasn´t she? You must have assigned her a security detail. Am I wrong? ¨he added wryly.
¨That´s neither here nor there, sheriff. She deserves to be protected by those whose salaries she´s paying with her taxes. ¨
¨Wasn´t it you who paid my salary? ¨ he chuckled and saw Lex clench his jaw. Ethan was enjoying seeing that mask of cool detachment he had come to hate so much start to slip off. ¨A patrol car has been watching over the house. We know that Miss Sullivan didn´t sleep at home last night, ¨he smiled provocatively.
¨You´re pushing your luck, sheriff... How well did you know Moira Sullivan? ¨asked Lex, unsettling the older man.
¨What´s that got to do with nothing? ¨
¨Maybe nothing, maybe everything, ¨smirked Lex. ¨You had a crush on her, didn´t you? Perhaps you lost your objectivity during the investigation. I know for a fact that you patrolled her neighbourhood to make sure she was all right. They say she was a gorgeous woman who had a lot of admirers. It wouldn´t be far-fetched to think of you as one of them. ¨
¨What are you insinuating, Luthor?¨asked a red-faced Ethan.
¨I´m not insinuating anything. Although I´ve got to say it seems odd; you finding her body, I mean. Still, what makes things look worse is the fact that the most important piece of evidence- Moira´s diary- wasn´t found. Have you misplaced it, perhaps? ¨ he asked, raising an eyebrow.
¨Moira´s diary? There was no diary, ¨he answered confused. ¨I´ve never heard of it. ¨
¨You´re lying, Ethan. I know for certain that the police searched the house for it. ¨
¨I can assure you if we had looked for or found any such item at the scene, it would be recorded in the file and it isn´t, ¨stated the policeman, dropping a thick folder on his desk. ¨All the evidence we´ve got is here. Have a look at it if you wish. There was no such thing as a diary, ¨ he added when Lex grabbed the file and started to browse it.
¨Chloe! Damn! ¨exclaimed a blanched billionaire, scraping the chair he had been sitting on.
