A moment later, a heartbeat sounded through static.
I sucked in a breath and laughed, sheer joy bursting from my heart to hear the heartbeat of my baby. Tears filled my eyes. If only Jarret were here. He’d want to hear it.
“See here...” Mike angled the monitor so I could see the screen. “That fluctuating number is your baby’s heart rate. That’s a good strong heart rate. Your baby’s doing fine.” He shut the Doppler off, wiped the probe, and stuffed it back into his bag. “You still question that I’m a doctor?” He handed me a wipe.
I smiled, wiping my abdomen as I sat up. “No, I’m sorry. I guess I’m a bit paranoid lately. It’s been difficult, not remembering so much about my life. I’m confused about everything.”
“I imagine it would be confusing.” He stood and, leaving his bag, returned to the weight room.
“Well, I promise I won’t ask for your credentials again.”
Looking amused, he disappeared through the doorway.
As I stared in the direction of the weight room, a thought pushed its way to the forefront of my mind. I remembered where I’d seen Melinda’s picture. No, it couldn’t be. That would mean— “Mike?”
“Mm-hmm? Did you want me to shut the computer down?” he hollered, then peeked out of the room.
Heart racing over the theory that bounced around my mind, I forced myself to remain calm. Maybe I was mistaken. “You can leave it on.”
He tapped the doorframe and emerged from the room. “Well, I guess my job is done here.”
We met in the empty dining room, me stepping closer than I would’ve preferred. But I would need to see...
“Hey, my phone’s not working. Can I use yours to make a quick call? I wanted to invite Roland over.” I gave him a friendly smile.
“Oh, sure.” He pulled his cell phone out and tapped the screen.
I leaned in. The image of the girl appeared for a split-second before the phone pad popped up. But I’d had enough time. Straight dark hair, heavy make-up…it was Melinda.
My heart shimmied in my chest. I should’ve been reaching for the phone he held out to me, but I found myself unable to move. Something didn’t make sense. Melinda had referred to her boyfriend by a different name.
“Caaaitlyn?” Mike stretched out my name, his tone heavy with suspicion.
Snapping from my trance, I met his gaze and forced myself to reach for his phone. I needed to act normal.
His pale eyes, gleaming with intensity, were locked on me. A grin crept onto his face. The instant my fingers brushed his phone, he yanked it back and shoved it into a pocket. “You didn’t really want to make a phone call, now did you?”
“What?” Heart hammering, I backed into the middle of the empty dining room. Too late to try to act normal.
“You wanted another peek at the photo of my girlfriend. I gather you’ve met her.”
“I—I guess I have. Melinda, right? Why does she call you Tony?” Wanting more distance between us but unwilling to turn my back to him, I continued backing up.
“My father’s name was Michael so my family used my middle name, Anthony. Tony for short.”
“Melinda’s awfully young, don’t you think? What is she, like ten years younger than you?”
“Well, now, that’s your concern, is it?” Mike stared, seeming to study every inch of my face. “I’m not sure how to explain to you... When a man uncovers a treasure, he does not ignore it. An archaeologist searches and searches but, most of the time, discovers nothing.”
Mouth going dry, I wrapped my arms protectively around my belly.
He gave the hint of a grin, his pale eyes shifting as his gaze roamed all over me. “But on that glorious day that a man comes across a rare and valuable find, would you expect him to simply leave it in the ground? As an archaeologist’s wife, I should think you would understand. I can no more pretend that my heart has not found a treasure, than I could leave an artifact buried in the dirt.”
Not sure how to respond, I shook my head. Trepidation grew within, and I found myself unable to tear my gaze from his pallid eyes.
He inched toward me.
I backed to the dining room wall.
“I say, who can really control the heart? The heart is free. It does what it pleases. It finds in one a friend, in another an enemy, and in yet another...” Moving into my personal space, he licked his lips. “... a lover. You can no more stop the yearnings of your heart than you can the sun from shining or lightning from striking. Love is not ours to decide. It’s a gift.” He smiled. “And I think God puts love in our hearts, don’t you?”
Heart pounding in my throat, I slipped from between him and the wall and dashed into the kitchen. I grabbed the island countertop and turned to face him. “Love?” I said. “That’s not love.”
He resumed his slow pace toward me.
Wanting to get to the other side of the counter island, desperate to have something between us, I backed up. “You took advantage of a young girl’s vulnerability. Melinda doesn’t know what she’s doing. You got her pregnant and forced her to do away with her child. For you. Do you know how that scarred her? Are you even still seeing her?”
“We’ll get back together, when all this settles down. Perhaps I should’ve done the procedure myself, then your agency wouldn’t have known about her, but it’s so easy for a girl to get rid of her problem at a clinic, I didn’t feel it necessary.”
I shuddered at his choice of words: “the procedure,” “her problem.” He made it seem so ordinary and little, as if it did not involve a sacred human life.
He ran his hand along the counter as he continued his slow pursuit. “Now, the mind is something altogether different from the heart. The mind can be educated, convinced, manipulated, or controlled with logic, sweet words, or drugs.”
Drugs? I backed into a chair, banging my calf. Trying to maneuver around it, I stumbled and lost my balance, a tingling sensation rippling through my entire body.
He laughed, watching me flail.
I flung my arms out to steady myself and accidentally swept a pile of papers and a pen from the table to the floor. Regaining my balance, I was about to dash to the other side of the counter island.
The pen—the spy pen! It rolled under the table. If I were to stoop for it, I would have to take my eyes off him. He could get me.
I scooted around a chair and grabbed hold of it, clutching it like a shield between us.
“Is that what you did? Did you drug me?” I asked. Then with all the strength I could muster, I thrust the chair at him and dove under the table. Papers slipped under my hands and knees. Fumbling in my long, knitted skirt, I flopped onto my side and groped for the pen. My fingertip brushed it, pushing it farther away. I got up on all fours.
Mike laughed and made a guttural grunt. The chair crashed onto the table—above me.
Startled, I shrieked and jerked my arms up over my head.
The chair slid off the table and smashed into the patio doors, bouncing to the floor. Papers and photos rained down.
I stretched, reached and... got it! I clicked the pen, hoping to turn it on, and crawled backwards to get out from under the table.
Mike lunged and latched onto my arms. The pen slipped from my grasp as he yanked me to my feet. He spun me to face him and forced my back against the counter island. Clutching my arm with a merciless vice-grip, he rested his other hand on the counter and stood in a posture of intimacy, a feigned look of hurt in his eyes.
“Drug you? Why now, Caitlyn, I’m a doctor.” He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Perhaps you assume that because I am a doctor, I could easily get my hands on dangerous pharmaceuticals. Why, that would be malpractice. I certainly did not drug you. And it was not my intent to hurt you. You were the one who grabbed that rock.”
“Then it was you? You chased me in the woods?”
“Ah...” He smiled, a pleasant expression that belied his cruel behavior. “So you do remember. And here you’ve been denying all recollection.
”
“You didn’t want to hurt me? What did you want? My camera? I had no pictures of you.” I tried to wiggle my arm free from his painful grip.
He released me but blocked my escape with his arms, his hands resting on the counter on either side of me.
“Well, now, there you’re wrong. I didn’t want your camera at all. But I guess that’s what I got. I never checked. Jarret told me the two of you switched cameras. So, I thought I took care of my little problem when I took yours. I only recently realized my mistake.”
I grabbed his arms and pushed, but he only smiled. “What was on Jarret’s camera?” I wished I’d looked at all the pictures. I must’ve missed whatever he was after.
“Nothing now. And every trace of the pictures on your computer is gone.”
I could find out. Sean could recover it. I gave Mike a smug look. “Then I guess you’re done here.”
Mike returned the smug look but added a creepy laugh. “Don’t think your friends down at Wright Investigators can retrieve the pictures either. Not even with their fancy recovery software. I cleaned them off good.”
My hope melted. We’d have no proof of his involvement with a minor. I would have to get him to admit it. I turned to glimpse the spy pen, hoping that it was turned on, working properly, and now recording our conversation.
“And what’s more, now that our dirty laundry hangs in the open, I have to say, I don’t want my name brought up at all in the work you’re doing for that attorney. Do you understand me?”
“Worried about statutory rape?” My face tightened in another smug grin, which I really ought to control since we were alone, and he towered over me.
He smiled. “That’s really an unfair and outdated law, don’t you think? In the not too distant past, it was common for a man to marry a girl, younger even than Melinda was at the beginning of our relationship.”
“Fair or not, Mike, it is the law.”
The eye above the scar twitched. Anger flashed in his eyes.
It was time to make my move. I twisted and rammed him with my hip. He staggered back a step. Then he grinned and lifted his arms as if to wrap them around me.
I wouldn’t give him the chance. I thrust my elbow to his chin.
He staggered back several steps this time.
I sprinted for the door.
In an instant, he was behind me, grabbing me by the hair, jerking my head back.
Searing pain shot through the bump on my head. Groaning, seeing stars, I stumbled and smacked into him. He wrapped his arm around me from behind and enveloped my body. Grasping, twisting, I struggled to free my arms.
“These outdated, unfair laws ought to change, but be that as it may.” He yanked my hair again, a pain-inducing tug that forced me to face him.
I stifled a whimper and stopped struggling. I needed to think.
Holding me close, he pressed his cheek to my forehead and spoke. “You want to go after the abortion clinic, go after them. But you are not going to mention my name, dragging me into it, painting my picture as some pervert child-rapist to that attorney or to your client. I will be in none of your reports. And I’m going to tell you why. Your husband, as it turns out, has been stealing artifacts.”
What was he talking about?
He yanked my head back further.
I groaned, the pain bringing spots to my vision.
“And since I know about it...” His mouth, twisting out lies, hovered inches from mine. “... I have the responsibility to report him. So, when you falsely accuse me, I’m going to make it clear that you are motivated by revenge. You will no longer be reputable and perhaps your company with you.”
“You’re going to ruin Jarret’s career over this?” My jaw trembled as I spoke. “He has nothing to do with it.”
“He has everything to do with it. He’s your husband. But if we keep all this between ourselves, you can save his career and yours. You talk to Jarret about this or mention my name to Wright Investigators, and I will ruin you both. I will not go to court or to jail for statutory rape. Our society may see things differently, but I have done nothing wrong.”
“Let me go.” I wriggled to get some space between us, but he only laughed in my ear. If I had a little space, I could—
The screen door squeaked and the front door flew open. Jarret stood in the doorway, his face contorting with a series of spasmodic tics. “Get your hands off my wife.” He spit the words out and formed a fist on his way over.
Heart beating wildly, I heaved a great sigh, thankfulness and confusion flooding my thoughts. How did he know to come?
“Easy now, Jarret. Caitlyn and I are simply having a little talk.” Mike laughed. “Unfortunately for you, your arrival changes things. Leaves me little choice.” He released my hair and relaxed his hold... enough for me to get the space I needed.
I turned a little, jabbed my hipbone into him, and spun to face him. Before he understood my intent, I thrust my knee into his groin. He doubled over, groaning. I brought my elbow up to strike his chin but, in mid-motion, found myself shoved away.
Jarret’s fist ripped across Mike’s chin. Mike swayed but then retaliated, throwing his body weight into Jarret, slamming him against the wall. A good fifty pounds heavier and half a foot taller, Mike had the advantage.
Desperate to help, I glanced around the house, trying to come up with an idea.
Mike punched Jarret in the gut with his right fist, his left, his right. Jarret groaned, his body convulsing.
“Stop!” I shrieked.
Jarret pushed off the wall, lodged his shoulder in Mike’s abdomen and rammed him into the countertop.
I jumped out of the way.
Jarret drew his fist to throw a punch. Mike blocked it and grabbed his arm. Jarret made a move with his other fist, but Mike blocked that too. They wrestled, arms locked, heads together, moving through the house in an awkward dance. They bumped into the loveseat, the coffee table, and then the couch. Jarret cracked his head against Mike’s and broke free. He threw another punch. Mike swayed and smashed into the bookshelf. Pictures, rocks, and books slid along the shelves and crashed to the floor.
Rocks! I dashed for the bookshelf. I swiped up the grapefruit-sized amethyst geode and lifted it over my head.
Mike had Jarret down on his knees, his arm around his neck in a sleeper hold.
I brought the geode down.
As I did, Jarret broke the hold and traded places with Mike, his hands grasping for Mike’s neck. So when the geode struck a skull... it was Jarret’s.
I gasped.
Jarret fell to the floor. Rubbing his neck and breathing hard, Mike climbed to his feet and stooped over. He laughed as he straightened.
I dropped to Jarret’s side, rolled him onto his back, and pressed my ear to his chest. Please, be alive. His heart beat strong and fast.
Mike gripped the couch for support and continued to laugh, wiping a tear every few seconds. “I was running out of energy, thought Jarret was about to own me. So, I thank you, Caitlyn. I’m much obliged.”
I grunted in disgust.
“I guess... my job is done here... so I’ll be going now. I’ve got some business... to attend to at work,” he said between breaths as he headed for the door. “Remember what I told you. You can keep your job or lose it. Either way, my reputation will not suffer.”
He pushed open the screen door and disappeared.
“Oh, Jarret.” I sobbed over him. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did this to you.”
He lay still and peaceful, sleeping like a gentle lion.
I wiped the sweat from his hairline and kissed his forehead. Please, God, let him be okay.
CHAPTER 42
THE SOUND OF Mike’s car rolling out of the driveway sent a wave of relief through me. A few seconds later, a car pulled in. My heart, which had only begun to calm, pounded again. A car door slammed, making me jump. Footsteps sounded. I held my breath. The screen door squeaked open and a dark figure stood in the doorway, the bright
sun behind him.
“Caitlyn? Jarret!”
I exhaled, relieved that Roland had come.
Roland shot to my side and dropped to his knees. His gaze flitted from me to Jarret to the mess in the house. “What happened?”
“He’s unconscious. But I think he’s okay. Mike came over...”
Roland nodded and popped up. “He was after Jarret’s camera, not yours.”
He disappeared into the bedroom. A moment later, he returned with a wet washcloth, which he handed to me. His gaze snapped to the dining room, where papers lay strewn on the floor and a chair on its side, then he swiped a decorative pillow from the couch and joined me on the floor.
“We enlarged Jarret’s pictures at work. Mike’s in three of them, in the background with an underage girl. His girlfriend.”
“Melinda.” I cradled Jarret’s head in my arms as Roland stuffed the pillow under it. “You have the pictures? Mike came here to erase them from our computer. I figured he already took care of Jarret’s camera.” I cleared the floor around Jarret’s head, pushing books, pictures, and rocks away.
“Yeah, Jarret gave me the pictures on a jump drive. Remember?” He scooted aside and leaned against the backside of the couch.
“That’s good to know. We need proof because Mike said— Hey, how did Jarret know to come home?”
“When you called me, I heard Mike in the background. Sean and I were putting it all together, and I figured you shouldn’t be alone with him. Jarret was closer, so I called him before I headed out.”
“I’m glad you did.” I explained everything Mike had threatened me with.
Jarret stirred and we both looked down.
“Maybe I should’ve called the police, huh?” Roland said. “But I didn’t know for sure. Do you think he needs an ambulance?”
Jarret groaned.
“Jarret?” I hovered over him.
He touched his head and squinted at me. “Man, what happened?”
“Oh, it’s my fault.” My heart ached with remorse.
“What’s your fault?” He pushed himself up, rested on his elbows, and glanced around. “Where am I?”
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