She kept checking up on Rue who had finally managed to convince her parents to move back home.
Other cases came along, and one night Theo was working late, Vanessa decided it was time to take the chance. She knew Rue was back to a functional life. She wasn’t happy.
Vanessa wasn’t sure if she had the power to make her. She could only try.
She dropped by Rue’s condo after work. The woman opening the door to her looked tired—Vanessa could sympathize. Coming back from a traumatic experience like that took hard work, every day.
Christina had begun an outpatient therapy after her release as well. At least, the two of them had escaped the fate of the slasher’s other victims.
“Hey. What can I do for you?”
“We need to talk.”
“Do we?”
“Can I come in?”
Rue shrugged. “If you must. I’m afraid I can’t offer you much. I was going to order in tonight.”
“That’s fine. I’ll invite myself if you don’t mind, and don’t worry, I’ll pay.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Rue still lived in the same condo. As she went to the kitchen in search of some takeout flyers, Vanessa took a seat on the couch, wondering if she was doing the right thing. It didn’t look like Rue was much interested in change.
What she had to tell her would change everything.
Rue returned with a couple of leaflets and a bottle of wine.
“I don’t feel so bad opening this when I have company. Someone at the firm gave it to me as a welcome gift…I was afraid that if I started it by myself, I’d drink the whole bottle.”
“I understand.”
The look Rue gave her was skeptical, reminding Vanessa of Joanna. True, she had seen some bad stuff that probably couldn’t compare.
“You told the whole story,” Rue said. “Thank you for that. I had no idea how my prints ended up on the gun. I remember feeling a knife in my hand…but it’s all flashes and small parts. I can’t come up with the whole picture.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I was cleared, and…I wanted to tell you I’m leaving IA. It’s the better solution anyway, being with Theo.”
“Oh. Sure. That makes sense.” Rue took two glasses out of the cabinet and poured the wine for both of them. “I’m happy for you…if that’s what you want.”
“What do you want, Rue?”
Rue laughed bitterly.
“My life back? It shouldn’t matter so much, after all we didn’t know each other that long, but I’d like to know why the hell Joanna never came to see me. I mean…You’re not grieving, so I guess she’s okay, just doesn’t want to talk to me. I know she was mad at me when she found out I worked for her father, but I thought we had put all of that behind us. Hell, I threw my career out of the window…not because of her. It wouldn’t be fair to say that. It was a wake-up call, though, when we met…I wanted a clean slate.”
Vanessa drank from her glass—and again.
“There’s something else you need to know. Joanna didn’t exactly have a choice, because I…didn’t shoot Short.”
“What? Why the hell would you say you did?”
“To share the burden? Look, you can’t tell anyone about this, ever. If you did, I’d deny I said it, and they would probably believe me. Your memory is sketchy. You blocked out most of the time during your abduction. Joanna did come for you.”
Rue stared at her through wide eyes.
“We made a judgment call, okay? She had already been convicted for a similar situation. What do you think would have happened?”
“All of this…why? You could have told the truth, the whole truth. He was going to kill me. Him, this Decker guy, they loved to kill. Why would anyone doubt her?”
Vanessa felt a flash of uncomfortable heat at the question, and the only answer she had, her own part in what had led them here.
“I couldn’t take the chance.”
“So you went ahead and made decisions for all of us.”
That was, she had to admit, a just description of the events.
“No matter how much we understand these feelings, we can’t have cops running around, being judge, jury and executioner. It doesn’t work that way.”
Rue pulled up her legs under herself and studied Vanessa with curiosity.
“Then what works? They like to hurt and kill women. Again, and again. Prison doesn’t stop them from thinking they have the right, it doesn’t stop the fantasies.”
“I’m aware of that.”
Joanna had once asked her the same questions, shortly before her arrest.
Vanessa couldn’t come up with words that would be enough for each of them, with an answer that was safe for any of them.
There was one thing she could do.
“How attached are you—to this place, your new job, friends in town?”
“I don’t understand a thing you’re saying.”
“Do you miss Joanna? Do you think you two could have a future if you could be together?”
Tears were glistening in Rue’s eyes. “Now that’s just cruel.”
“No, it’s a chance, but it’s the only one you get.”
“What if she doesn’t want to see me? Damn it, you’re all crazy.”
“I’m certain she’d love to see you. The thing is I can’t just arrange a date for you two. This is it. You can say yes, and leave in a few hours, or you say no and forget we ever had this conversation. I’d understand. Like you said, you haven’t known each other for long.”
For a long time, Rue didn’t say anything, making Vanessa fear for what her answer would be. For her own peace of mind, she wanted to create something good. Help fate along, if she couldn’t turn back time to when everything had been so much easier and clearer.
The longing in her expression was unmistakable though.
“It is sunny there, too,” Vanessa said.
* * * *
Decker’s widow had called her a cold-blooded killer in court, regardless of her late husband’s record. On social media, many people had called her many different names.
The truth was a lot more complicated than that. Somewhere between right and wrong, helpful, hopeful and hindering necessary progress, there was a grey zone Joanna had inhabited for a long time, because she’d known and feared the moment history repeated itself, like it always did.
Her new life was a lot different from that, the loss of proximity to her old job and the people in it part of a healing process she had never imagined.
Still, she felt a longing that was painful, translating into dreams of a time when Joanna had thought she could have it all.
She stood on the deck of the small house, a beer in hand. It was Friday. She had stopped smoking the moment she’d set foot on this island, and she’d never gone back to vodka. Clarity was a double-edged sword, but it was better than losing herself in a fog. Joanna actually enjoyed her work.
She frowned at the sight of a cab climbing the hill. Since Vanessa’s contact had dropped her off and the details about housing and work were determined, she hadn’t had visitors. The only people she saw were tourists at the inn, and she didn’t socialize with them. She placed the bottle on the railing and walked down the steps to the driveway. The cab had come to a halt on the edge of the property, and a woman exited from the car.
Impossible.
Rue walked faster, and so did Joanna, until she could close the last bit of distance between them, pulling her close.
It had to be one of those dreams, seductive and cruel at the same time, where Rue was in her arms and she swore to herself she’d get it right this time, no more detours or heroics…
“You’re real,” Rue said, holding on tight. “Please tell me I didn’t do something incredibly stupid. I…I might need a roof over my head.”
Joanna kissed her softly.
“I want to say welcome home, but I’m afraid you just came by fo
r a visit. How did you get here?” She took Rue’s hand, leading her up to the house.
“Long story. Actually, it’s not. Vanessa.”
“I figured. You…” She was still afraid of asking the question. “You know everything?” Damn, that was not what she wanted to ask. “You’re going to stay?”
“If you’ll have me—but I hope you will, because I don’t know anyone here, and I don’t think I can go back.”
“Then don’t.”
Joanna would never forget the day Rue came back into her life, or the quiet intimacy at the early dawn of the day.
They had faced losses along the way, but in the end, they still won.
* * * *
Kira hadn’t shown the postcard to her husband, children, or anyone. Just once in a while she took it out of the drawer, looked at it and smiled. Sometimes, people got what they deserved.
Books by Barbara Winkes
www.amazon.com/author/barbarawinkes
Suspense/Thrillers
The Amnesia Project
Secrets
The Carpenter/Harding thrillers:
1. Indiscretions
2. Insinuations
3. Incisions
4. Intrusions
5. Initiations
6. Intentions
7. Infatuations
Jayce & Emma (romantic suspense)
1. Halfway Home
2. Familiar Places
3. New Rooms
4. Close Quarters
5. Honeymoon Suite
Paranormal/Suspense
Rise
Romance
The Interpretation of Love and the Truth
The Design of Everything Perfect
Open Spaces
Callie & Rebecca:
1. Autumn Leaves
2. Winter Storm
3. Spring Fever
4. Summer Wine
Utopian/Dystopian
The Exodus Strategy
Cypher
All of these titles are available for Kindle Unlimited.
Thank you for reading! Please consider taking a moment to leave a review. Your feedback is welcome and appreciated.
Killer Instinct Page 17