In one Herculean effort, I lunged my whole body forward, digging in the heels of my bare feet and carrying him along with me. The palm of my hand felt the handle of the knife. Grasping hold with all my might, I drew back and plunged the blade deep into his chest. Blood immediately spilled down his pale blue button-up with the short sleeves, his work shirt that I felt sure Kenna had toiled hard to perfectly press.
Blood poured from his chest cavity and flowed onto my flower-patterned dress. He leaned back on his haunches and placed both hands on the blade, attempting to pull it out.
“Don’t do that,” I warned. “It’ll create a bigger hole and you’ll bleed out instantly. Let me call for an ambulance.”
He said nothing, collapsing sideways in a heap on my recently cleaned beige carpet, which was now turning a brilliant crimson. He coughed, spluttering blood and moaning in excruciating pain.
Locating my phone, I blinked several times, trying to make out the keys. My own face was bloodied, battered and already swelling.
Fearing dispatch wouldn’t let me hang up after making a 9-1-1 call, I instead called Detective Sutton. “I’ve stabbed Bill. Please come to my apartment.”
“I’m already on my way back into Fort Worth. I’ll send for an ambulance and nearby officers,” he assured me.
My first instinct was to run and put some distance between myself and Bill. But there was no need. He was completely incapacitated. And too, I was utterly drained. Propping myself against the wall where my loveseat once was, I looked at Bill who was dying on the floor a few feet away from me. “Bill, I’m sorry.” I genuinely hated that I’d most likely killed someone. “The ambulance is on the way. You just hang in there.”
He was in bad shape. This wasn’t like in the movies where the bad guy had a second chance at coming after his victim. His opportunity to kill me had come and gone. He wasn’t a threat any longer and I felt terrible for ending the life of someone, even Bill’s, who I despised. I scooted my butt over to him and held his hand. He could no longer speak, but his dying gaze, full of fear, held mine. And that is how he died. With me next to him and holding his hand.
Chapter Forty-Four
Hailey
“Hey, Mrs. Sinclair, are you in there?” Gladys yelled, pounding on the locked door. “What’s taking you so long?”
Using my last ounce of energy, I climbed to my feet and unlocked the door. Gladys entered with a check clasped in her hand. In one quick glance, she took in Bill’s dead body lying in a giant pool of dark red blood. Immediately, she assessed the damage.
“Lordy, I’ll never be able to get all that blood out of the carpet. I’m going to have to replace it. That’s a substantial cost. There’s no way you’re getting a refund. Sorry about that.” Then she ripped the check into tiny little pieces and let it flutter to the floor. “You’ll never rent from me again, ever. You got that, never.”
I nodded and then, unable to tolerate my own weight, I slumped back down to the floor.
She held her gaze on me. “You look terrible. Are you hurt?”
“I don’t know.” I’d never been hit, pushed, pulled, prodded and choked almost to death before. I had no idea what shape I was in.
“I’ll call for an ambulance,” she kindly offered.
“They’re already on the way,” I explained.
Just then, sirens could be heard in the distance.
“I’ll go let them in and direct them up here,” she offered as I fully collapsed back on the carpet, adding more blood in the process. If the carpet was going to be replaced, what did it matter now?
The paramedics first ran to Bill. Finding no pulse, they turned their attention to me. “Where are you hurt?” the black-haired girl responder asked.
“My face, my throat and my chest,” I answered.
They took a good look at me but didn’t find any life-threatening injuries. Two police officers piled into the room, immediately going into investigative mode.
“We’re taking her to the hospital,” the female responder told the officers. “She needs x-rays, just to be sure.”
“Which hospital? We’ll need to take her statement.”
Just then Detective Sutton walked in. “I’ll follow her to the hospital and get her statement,” he assured the other officers. “I’ll send for forensics,” he added.
While the male responder assisted me out into the hallway, Detective Sutton picked up the contents from my purse and brought it along with him. Once again, my box of items was left behind, this time strewn across the living room floor, except for the butcher knife which remained lodged in Bill’s chest.
On the way to the hospital, I called my mother. “Mom, there was an incident at the apartment. Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine. But I am being taken to the hospital … just for a checkup.”
“What happened?” she demanded, fear coming through in her tone.
“It’s a long story but suffice it to say Bill was released from jail and came after me. Again, Mom, I’m fine.” I couldn’t bring myself to say I’d killed someone. Even though it was clearly self-defense, taking someone’s life was something I never thought I’d have to do, and it was extremely difficult to wrap my head around it.
The next stop was Harris Hospital where I was wheeled out on a transporter from the back of the ambulance and taken in for a more thorough examination. Detective Sutton arrived soon after me, along with my purse.
“Thank you,” I said as he placed the handbag on a small table beside me. I was already hooked to an IV and they were getting the x-ray room ready.
“I’m sorry,” he immediately apologized. “My office didn’t notify me about Bill’s release until it was too late. As soon as I found out, I called you. You’d already told me you were at your apartment and the second you didn’t answer, I was afraid something was wrong. I hightailed it back this way as fast as I could. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
“It’s not your fault. I lost my refund any way because of the blood on the carpet. If I’d just mailed the keys back, I would’ve probably received a check in the mailbox. I have only myself to blame.”
He shook his head. “You couldn’t have known he was being released.” He looked around for a place to sit. Not finding a chair in the area, he perched on the edge of the bed. “Let’s go over what happened. And don’t leave anything out.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Well, I seem to recall you arrested some girl in a hotel when you thought she killed her husband. Then you arrested my boss when you thought she killed her employees. I did kill Bill, but I’m telling you right now, it was a matter of life or death, and I chose life. So, don’t even think about arresting me.”
He grinned and shook his head at me. “Oh, okay. I’ll go soft on you. But I do need a complete statement. So, let’s start at the top and you work me through everything that happened.”
I nodded and began. “First off, Bill mentioned Kenna having left with her pink suitcase. I knew right then that the one in the dumpster was hers and that he had killed her. After you’d told me she wasn’t under the cement, I knew her body was somewhere else. Bill wanted me to apologize to him – which I did – and at one point, I thought he was going to accept it and let me go. But he said something about all’s well that ends well. In my head, I associated ends well with the end of the well. That was when I realized Kenna must be at the bottom of that well next to his mother’s house. My realization must’ve been evident on my face. I even muttered ‘well.’ Bill knew it immediately and decided to kill me.”
“The well,” he said in amazement.
“Yes, he said as much. He even admitted to strangling Kenna and the bump in the night was her fighting against him and banging the headboard into the wall.”
After telling him everything that happened, in the end, he didn’t arrest me. Instead, he left when they came to take me in for x-rays. But he told me he’d check out the well and would be in touch.
My x-rays didn’t show anything broken. It was just
going to take time for my face to heal and for the bruises on my throat to disappear. Until then, I had some minor red spots in my eyes known as petechiae, a result of bleeding caused by strangulation. It was gross to look at, but the doctor felt it would heal itself in time.
My parents showed up to check on me. “My God, Hailey,” my mother cried out when she saw my face. “Honey, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom,” I assured her. “Adam’s not with you though, is he?”
“No, Sarah came and picked him up.”
Thank goodness. This would give me time to change out of my bloody clothes, take a shower, and apply a few layers of makeup before he saw me.
My parents demanded to know everything that happened. This time I didn’t leave anything out, including my ending Bill’s life.
“Oh, Hailey, you’re so lucky Dad forgot that box. But for that butcher knife, you’d be dead.”
I swallowed hard, knowing she was right. “Next time, I’ll take Dad with me.” I tried smiling at him, but my face hurt too much.
After leaving the hospital with my parents, we swung by the apartment complex to pick up my car. My dad drove my car, while my mom chauffeured me over to their house. While Dad went to get Adam, I took a shower, changed into some of my mother’s clothes and applied a good layer of foundation. Hopefully, Adam wouldn’t think I looked “funny.”
“I need to call Ryan and tell him what happened,” I said after finally getting myself situated on the couch in the living room, which thankfully felt soft against my many aches and pains.
“We’ve already phoned him,” my mom said. “He was going to catch the first flight out.”
“Oh no, Mom. I’ll try to catch him and tell him there’s no need for him to come home.”
After numerous attempts with no answer, I knew Ryan was already in the air.
Chapter Forty-Five
Ryan
When Ryan received the call from his mother-in-law, he couldn’t believe his ears. “She’s what!” Ryan bellowed into the phone. “Did you say hospital?”
“I don’t really know much, Ryan. Hailey said she went over to that apartment to turn in her keys. Then she called and said there was an incident there. Something about that Bill guy being released from jail and coming after her. She said not to worry, that she was perfectly fine. But you know how Hailey is. As soon as Sarah can pick up Adam, Frank and I will be on our way to the hospital. I’ll let you know the status as soon as we find out.”
“Yes, call me. But I’m coming home. I’ll be on the first flight out.”
Ryan was on the job site, overseeing the first stages of the Waterline Condominium project in Florida. His teammate, Roger Sloan had traveled with him. “You need to take over,” he told Roger. “I have to get home right now. Hailey’s been attacked by a maniac who’s landed her in the hospital.”
“I completely understand, and you can count on me,” Roger assured him. “Get home and don’t worry about anything here.”
He jumped on his phone and booked reservations for the next available flight back to DFW. If he couldn’t make the next flight, there wouldn’t be another plane leaving for five more hours. He rolled into action, first swinging by the hotel to pack his bags. Next, he was in a cab. “Step on it,” he told the driver. “My plane is leaving in less than an hour, and I need to get to the airport right now.”
After plowing through traffic and being herded through security, he arrived at the gate just as the last few passengers boarded the plane. He shifted from one foot to the other, waiting to present his boarding pass. His mind was in a frantic haze, worried to death about his wife.
“Eileen, any news on Hailey?” he asked, calling his mother-in-law once he slumped into his assigned seat.
“We haven’t left the house yet. We’re still waiting for Sarah to come by and take Adam.”
“The plane will be in the air by then. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
The flight was three hours long, which equated to three eons in Ryan’s mind. He was worried sick. Hailey was a tiny little thing. What possible chance could she have against someone who had been lifting weights?
The moment the plane landed, he phoned Eileen again. “How’s Hailey?”
“She’s fine. A little beat up, but she’s fine.”
“Oh, thank God,” Ryan said in a relieved breath. “Tell her I’ll be there soon.”
Even though Ryan had received the good news, he couldn’t wait to lay eyes on Hailey. From the airport to Kenwick Street, he pressed the speed limits, anxious to see his wife. Swinging into his in-law’s driveway and bounding out of his car, he ran to the front door and let himself inside.
Frank was in his recliner. Eileen was sitting on the loveseat. Adam was in the middle of the living room floor, putting a puzzle together. Hailey was propped up on the couch. She was the one he couldn’t get to fast enough.
“Honey are you okay?” he asked, sidestepping Adam’s puzzle pieces, weaving in front of Eileen’s feet and getting to his wife.
“I’m fine, I keep telling everyone. You shouldn’t have flown home. Why didn’t you just wait a minute?”
“Are you kidding me? I almost lost you once before. The thought of losing you again was too much to bear. I had to make sure you were okay.”
He examined her face, looking past the makeup at the swelling and bruises. Then he took in the marks on her neck. “Tell me what happened.”
Eileen took Adam into the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate while Hailey relayed her harrowing experience with Bill.
That night, Ryan held his wife tighter than he ever had before. He almost lost Hailey today. From here forward, he was going to treasure every moment he had with her. And tomorrow, he was going to talk to his boss.
***
The next day, Ryan walked into Premier Designs, headed across the room, stopped short of the reception desk, and threw a hateful glare downward at Shannon.
“What?” she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes at him a couple of times.
His patience all but snapped. His mouth formed a stubborn line, and his teeth were gritted. “You’ll find out what soon enough,” he snarled. Passing by her desk, he headed down the hallway and knocked on Mr. Campbell’s door.
“Come in,” Mr. Campbell announced from the other side. Ryan entered and Mr. Campbell took on a puzzled look. “What are you doing here? Please don’t tell me things went south on the Waterline Condominium project.”
“No, everything’s going fine. Roger’s in charge.”
“Then what are you doing here?” his boss questioned as Ryan boldly walked on in and took an unoffered seat in one of the guest chairs.
“My wife was attacked yesterday. She had to go to the hospital, and I flew back to make sure she was okay.”
“Oh dear. Well, I’m sorry to hear that. Is she okay?”
“She’s lucky to be alive. The guy who attacked her is dead. But I was a million miles away from her when she needed me. I was supposed to get that job … not Jason Patterson. I want another shot.”
“Now Sinclair, I’ve already made my decision on that matter. As it is, you’re lucky to still have a job here, considering you stole Patterson’s plans.”
“No, he stole my plans, and I can prove it.” Ryan pulled out a small flash drive and handed it across the desk to Mr. Campbell. “Watch Video One first.”
Mr. Campbell frowned but slipped the device into his USB port. Once it loaded, he pressed the first video.
“That’s me as I was leaving the Bottles Up Distillery,” Ryan said. “Note that I walked out on my own accord, and I’m not stumbling.”
“Is this the night of my birthday party?”
“Yes, please note the timestamp at the bottom of the recording.”
Mr. Campbell leaned forward and closely peered at his monitor. “Yes, okay, I see that now.”
Once the recording ended, Mr. Campbell selected the second video.
“That’s Shannon Lowry holding th
e door open for Jason Patterson as he hauled me inside the lobby of Shannon’s apartment complex.”
“Good Lord, did you tie one on with them after you left the party?”
“No. Please note the timestamp on that video. I only had enough time to walk from the Bottles Up Distillery, back to my car, and then be driven to Shannon Lowry’s apartment. When I left the party, Shannon called out to me and wanted me to walk her back to the car. Once we boarded the garage elevator, she must’ve injected me with something because I remember something sharp poked me, then I was woozy after stepping off the lift. That video is proof that those two were up to no good. I think Jason took my keys and stole my plans, then he presented them to you as his own. If you’ll think about it, you’ll remember that you assigned that project to me.”
“That’s true, I do remember designating that job to you,” Mr. Campbell acknowledged. “But Jason told me you and he switched projects. That he became the designer on the Clark Anders Development Center, and you had taken over the Luxury Towers. It would have been my preference to have been informed about the switch in assignments, but I was okay with it as long as the job was performed, and you both felt comfortable with the reassignment.”
“But I didn’t trade projects. Don’t these videos prove something was up?”
“Well, they do look suspicious. But what on earth would a Friday night birthday party have to do with a Monday morning interview? Patterson could’ve just as easily waited until Monday morning, distracted you from your office and then gone in and stolen your project.”
“No, think about it. I still had my project. Remember, I presented it. Jason duplicated my design. He must’ve used the weekend to recreate it.”
“Okay, I guess I can see that.”
Ryan hadn’t told him about waking up next to Shannon. He still hadn’t figured out the reasoning for that. All that mattered right now was proving Jason Patterson drugged Ryan and stole his design material.
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