THE HEART TEACHES BEST (REAL ROMANCE COLLECTION Book 2)

by M. J. Schiller

  “Cooper Sullivan.”

  “Aidan McConnahy.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Kent crossed behind his desk and all three took their seats. “What can I do for you, officers?”

  “As we mentioned on the phone,” Aidan began, “we were looking for some information about Laney Essex.”

  “Yes, you said that. But I’m curious…” He looked from one to the other. “I understood you were investigating her sister’s murder. What kind of information would you need about Laney to help you with that?”

  Aidan threw a glance in Cooper’s direction, but he was concentrating on studying the principal, so he took lead. “Well, sir, it would appear whoever murdered Sydney Essex may also be after Laney Essex.”

  “After Laney?” he repeated, alarmed. “Are you sure?”

  “We’re fairly certain, yes.”

  “Well, I’ll be happy to give you whatever information I have then.”

  “Good. First off, we were wondering how well you know Ms. Essex. You must have a very large staff here—”

  “Yes. But Laney and I are very close. When she first came to the school, we worked together in the classroom. In fact, I feel I know her better than anyone else on the entire staff.”

  “Good. That’ll help. Could you tell me, would Ms. Essex have anyone here at the school you would consider an enemy?”

  “Laney? Of course not. Laney’s about the sweetest person I’ve ever met.”

  “What about an ex-boyfriend? Or anyone who may have, I don’t know, maybe made a pass at her and been turned down?”

  He straightened some papers on his desk. “W-well, I’m not sure…if Laney would…share something like that with me.”

  Cooper sensed he was hiding something and sat up straighter, watching his face with interest.

  “After all, I am the principal…” He trailed off, looking from one face to another. “She told you about us, didn’t she?” he blurted out.

  Cooper was so taken aback by the “us” he didn’t jump on it fast enough. Aidan cleared his throat. “Not directly,” he baited, “but we came to that conclusion.”

  “Listen, I was young and foolish back then. I knew it was wrong to make any sort of move on her, but I was going through a rough patch with my girlfriend, and Laney was so understanding, and…” He leaned forward, both palms flat on his desk. “Come on, you’ve seen her. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing in my position.”

  Cooper was silent, but his jaw tensed. “We’re not here to judge, Mr. Heaton. We only want to be certain that was as far as it went.”

  “Of course it was.” He got up to stand behind his chair and gripped the top of it in a wringing motion as he talked. “Laney shot me down right off the bat. At least she knew it was wrong. She turned me down with more poise than a girl fresh out of college should have. I apologized, and, luckily, we were able to get around it and become friends.”

  “You’re certain there is no unresolved anger over it?”

  “None whatsoever. I was never let down with such grace before. If anything, it made me love her more, but I’ve never made a move on her since.”

  “Okay. Do you know of anyone else who would harbor ill will toward her?”

  “No.” Kent was eying Cooper now. “Like I said, Laney is well-liked by her peers. Everyone has missed her since she’s been gone.”

  Aidan rose, and the sound of his chair moving back woke Cooper from his stupor of sorts. “Thank you for your time. If you should think of anything, here’s my card. Don’t hesitate to call us.”

  “Certainly.” Kent shook hands with him and returned Cooper’s level stare as he shook his hand as well.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Laney crashed for a solid two hours. She had nothing to do when she woke up in her hotel room, so she invited her guard, Officer Mike Preston, in for a hand of cards. As she dealt the cards, she listened to the officer’s account of his newest daughter’s birth.

  “So, you say she was your third?” He nodded. “All girls?”

  “Yep. But I don’t mind. I’ve got the whole girl thing down now. Besides, girls worship their fathers. It’s their mothers they can do without.”

  “Tell me about it,” she mumbled.

  A half hour later, she began to notice Mike yawning frequently. “Is Gabrielle still keeping you and your wife up a lot?”

  “Uhh…” He yawned again, then, laughed. “Yeah. I guess you could say that.”

  “Why don’t you go get a soda while I shuffle? I saw a machine at the opposite end of the hall when we came in.”

  “Okay. But you lock this door behind me and don’t let anyone in until you’re sure it’s me.”

  “Yes, sir.” She gave him a grin and a salute, the cards still in her hand. She followed him to the door and locked it behind him.

  Five minutes later, she heard a rap on the door. Hopping off the bed, she went to the door and listened.

  “It’s me, Laney,” Mike’s voice came.

  “Okay, Mike.” She had turned the lock when she heard a loud bang on the door. She listened, but heard nothing more. “Mike?” There was no answer. A tingle rolled up her spine. She turned the lock back. “Mike? Are you there?”

  “Yes.”

  But the voice wasn’t right. With a chill, she recognized the smooth voice of her personal nightmare. Her whispered “no!” was almost inaudible, but he seemed to sense she identified him.

  “Laney, open this door.”

  She stumbled backward and ran for the phone between the beds.

  “Open this door NOW!”

  Her clumsy hands dropped the receiver, but she picked it up again and dialed the front desk.

  She barely registered the sweet voice at the other end. “Front desk, can I help you?”

  “Yes! Yes! This is L-laney Essex in room…” What the hell is the room number? Her eyes scanned the phone’s face. “424! 424!” She screamed at the sound of a body crashing against the door.

  “LANEY!”

  “There’s someone trying to break into my room.”

  The teenager at the front desk was slow to catch on. “Do you want me to call the police or something?”

  “Yes! Yes! Call the police!” She screamed again as she heard the sound of the door frame splintering. She dropped the receiver, leaving it dangling from the bedside table, and hunted around for a weapon.

  In between the thuds of her would-be-assailant’s body hitting the door, she heard the neighboring door open. A man cried, “Oh, my God!” and slammed and bolted his door. Then, she heard a bang much louder than the others and the sound of wood rending. She ran into the bathroom and slammed and locked the door just as the front door gave in. She searched for something, anything to protect herself with. The towel bar was made out of little more than aluminum foil, so she ruled it out; and the shower curtain rod was not a spring rod, it was built into the wall.

  “Laney.” He laughed. “You might as well save me the expenditure of my energy and come on out now. Because, one way or another, I’m coming in there.”

  Why isn’t someone coming to help me?

  * * *

  Cooper was driving with Aidan back to the station house when his phone rang.

  “Cooper Sullivan.”

  “COOPER!”

  “Laney? What’s wrong?”

  “He’s here, Cooper! He’s here!”

  “Who’s there?”

  “The killer. He’s right outside.” She gave a short scream. “He’s getting in! The door’s breaking!”

  He switched his Corvette’s grill lights on and yanked on the steering wheel. “Where are you?” Aidan braced himself, one hand on the dashboard, one on his door as the sharp turn slammed him against the door. The ‘Vette took a wide swerve into oncoming traffic and then jerked and fishtailed as it reached the end of its 180 degree arc.

  “I-I’m in the tub. But he’s getting in, Cooper. He already got in the front door. My God! No one is coming to help me.”

&n
bsp; “Where is Mike?”

  “I don’t know!” she cried. “I don’t know! He went for a soda…” Cooper could hear the dull sounds of a body crashing against the bathroom door, and the sound of someone cussing, though he couldn’t make out the words.

  “Okay, Laney. I’m a couple of minutes away. Hang in there.”

  He heard her terrified scream like something out of a horror show, only this wasn’t a movie. After a loud series of clanks like she had dropped the phone into the tub, the line went dead.

  “Dammit!” He handed the phone to Aidan. “He’s there. He’s in her fucking room!”

  “Holy shit!”

  Cooper passed a driver who was too slow getting over by detouring into the momentarily vacant lane for oncoming traffic. He saw the approach of headlights and heard horns honking. He screeched back over in front of the slow driver just in the nick of time. Now they could see the rolling lights of squad cars coming from the opposite direction. With unerring accuracy, Cooper hit the driveway of the hotel in front of a police car, launching his car before slamming to a stop. Aidan took a breath but Cooper leaped out of the car on the run. Aidan followed without stopping to fill in the uniformed officers who were yelling at them. Cooper was taking the stairs two at a time.

  I can’t be too late. If anything happened to Laney, I could never forgive myself.

  The first thing he saw when he reached the broken door was blood, everywhere. When he crossed the threshold, he saw Mike Preston lying unconscious in a pool of blood. He heard Aidan not far behind, so he moved on into the room, pointing his gun into all corners as he progressed forward. When he reached the bathroom, he could see a large, bloody knife stuck in the door.

  “Laney?” he shouted.

  “COOPER!” Her voice was flooded with relief.

  “I’m here. But I want you to stay in there for a minute.” He turned to an EMT who was squatting down next to Mike. “Do you have an extra glove?”

  “Sure.” The EMT handed him one from his bag.

  Cooper removed the knife from the door and gingerly slid it inside the glove, handing it to one of the uniforms to place into evidence. He didn’t need Laney to be stuck with that image in her head. “Okay, Laney. It’s safe to come out.”

  He heard her scramble with the door’s lock and then she was out and rushing into his arms. He held her close, laying his chin on the top of her head. She didn’t say anything, but squeezed his waist for several minutes. She looked around and noticed the EMTs. She couldn’t see Mike on the other side of the bed but must have guessed.

  “Oh, my God! Mike!” She started to rush forward but he held her back.

  “You don’t want to see that.”

  “Mike’s hurt, isn’t he? He hurt Mike. Oh, my God! This is all my fault!”

  “Laney, no.”

  “Yes! It’s all my fault. Mike wouldn’t have been here if it weren’t for me. Oh, Cooper,” she cried, “he has a baby…” Her voice came out weakly and she leaned on him until he was almost supporting her weight. Tears ran down her face as they watched the EMTs work from a distance. At one point, Aidan reentered the room. He shook his head at Cooper, letting him know the attacker hadn’t been apprehended.

  After several minutes, the medical technicians had Mike stabilized, and as they prepared to take his girder out, one of the paramedics in charge came over to Laney and Cooper.

  “The good news is, it doesn’t seem as if anything major was hit by the knife, as far as I can tell. His vitals are all pretty good, considering. The bad news is, he’s lost a lot of blood. But he’s young, and seems to be in good health, and that’ll work in his favor.”

  Laney nodded dully. When he left, she turned to Cooper. “I want to go to the hospital.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cooper waited with Laney for hours while Mike Preston was in surgery, playing with her hair, fingers restless. She lay with her head on his chest, waiting. She never talked about what had happened in the hotel room, and he didn’t press her. They had been unable to contact Mike’s wife; it appeared she had taken the kids to her sister’s, but no one was home there. Police were waiting at her sister’s house in San Diego to bring her to the hospital as soon as they returned.

  When the surgery was over, the doctors came out and told them it had been a success. Mike was expected to make a complete recovery. Laney was visibly relieved, but insisted on waiting around until he woke up.

  “Okay, but let me get you something to drink,” Cooper suggested. He came back with coffee for himself and a Diet Pepsi for her, but stopped inside the door to have a whispered conversation with Aidan before returning to her. “Laney, I need to go back to the police station to write up a report, but Aidan’s going to stay with you.”

  “I won’t leave your side,” he reassured her.

  “I think I’ll be okay.” She was almost giddy now Mike was in the clear. She looked pointedly around the room where a half dozen cops waited along with them for Mike to regain consciousness, most of them wanting the opportunity to rib him for letting someone get the jump on him, their convoluted way of showing they cared.

  “I’ll be back soon,” Cooper added, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

  * * *

  Cooper rapped on the chief’s door and waited for his curt “Enter,” before turning the handle.

  “Hey, Coop! Good to see you.” The chief leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Have a seat. Have a seat.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Cooper said with a smile. These meetings with the chief were always awkward for him. He’d never quite gotten over the fact that he’d once called his boss “Uncle Eddy.” Eddy Royanovich had been his father’s partner up until “Sully” had been shot in the leg and had to leave the force five years ago. He had been at Cooper’s birthday parties since he was in grade school, and now Cooper sometimes didn’t know how to act when they spoke about official business.

  “Well, I don’t see you much in my office, so this must be important.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, what can I help you with, Coop?”

  “Well, sir…” He cleared his throat. “I’d like to ask to be taken off the Sydney Essex case.”

  Eddy Royanovich couldn’t have looked any more surprised. Cooper knew he had given the case to Cooper as a sort of gift. A high profile case like this one could get a guy a lot of mileage in the department.

  “Well, well!” Royanovich studied him, still shocked. “When you called earlier and told me you wanted to talk about the case, I went ahead and looked up what you had in the computer. It’s a very impressive start, Cooper. Why would you want to throw all of it away? Is it because of what happened to Preston? Do you feel that is somehow your responsibility? Because it’s not. Preston knew what he was getting into.”

  “No, it’s not that, sir.”

  “Well, what is it then, son?”

  Cooper had thought out what he wanted to say while sitting in the hospital. But thinking about it, and actually saying it were two different matters. “It is a question of professionalism, sir. I have…developed feelings for Laney Essex…and I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to continue on the case in this situation.” He said the last part in a rush, feeling somewhat foolish and staring at a spot somewhere over the chief’s head.

  He leaned back in his chair. “You’re just like your dad.”

  Cooper didn’t see the connection. “I’ll take that as a compliment, sir.”

  “Well, you both have an overdeveloped sense of professionalism, if you ask me.”

  He didn’t know what to say to that.

  “Have you talked to your dad about this?”

  “No, sir, I haven’t. But I know what he would say.”

  “Yeah.” He chuckled now. “I bet you do.” He shifted in his seat. “All right, Cooper. You are officially off the Sydney Essex case.” He turned back to the paperwork he had left undone on his desk.

  “Thank you, sir.” He was surpris
ed by how easy it had been. He hesitated then got up to leave, but was stopped at the door by the chief.

  “Oh, and Cooper,” Eddy said, looking up at him, the light from the table lamp giving his face a friendly glow, “I don’t have anyone to take over the case right now, so you can still work it, although you are officially off of it. Do you understand?”

  The chief was giving him a way out. “Yes, sir.” He gave his Uncle Eddy a grin and left his office.

  * * *

  Minutes after the chief’s door closed behind him, Cooper’s phone went off.

  “Coop, I think you need to get back here. Laney’s acting…different.”

  “What do you mean ‘different’?”

  “She was fine, energized even, when you were here, and Mike had just come out of surgery. I have to whisper so she doesn’t hear. I haven’t taken my eyes off her, I swear.”

  “Good.”

  “But since you’ve left, she’s been…well…like a zombie or something.”

  “Maybe she’s feeling a little shy with all you guys around,” he suggested.

  “No, Coop. It’s not that. It’s kind of eerie. It’s like she checked out. I’m telling you…her face doesn’t even look the same.”

  “All right, Aidan,” he replied, concerned now. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. Thanks for watching her for me, pal.”

  “Hey, Coop, you know that’s not a problem. I like her. I do. I’m just concerned.”

  “All right, man. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  When he arrived, she was staring out a window with her arms crossed. He had to admit, she looked a little…stunned. He came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She jumped. “Are you okay?”

  She smiled at him weakly. “Yes, thank you.” Her eyes had a vacant look.

  After a few minutes, Jenna, who it appeared had joined Aidan when he left, called to him. “Hey, Cooper, can I talk to you for a minute?” She and Aidan were on one side of the room with their heads together. He sidled over to them, still keeping his eyes on Laney.