by Ana Leigh
Vic's grin dissipated, replaced by a grim frown. He slapped Doug on the shoulder. "I hope for your sake they aren't, either, partner. Well, I'm out of here. See ya in the morning."
Doug popped the video in the VCR and sat down to watch it. The tape was from the day he and Jess had the argument on the courthouse steps – the day Gilbert had been released from jail.
Doug leaned back to enjoy just looking at Jess. He couldn't get enough of looking at her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and wondered if she'd ever consider them getting married. It had taken seven years for her to decide not to get hitched to Wolcott, so she sure as hell wasn't one who rushed into marriage.
Yeah, but who was he to criticize. Doug McGuire, the confirmed bachelor. That would be a good laugh to the guys in the locker room.
He grinned, watching the two of them go at each other on the tape. God, she was beautiful when she was angry. She was beautiful any time.
The camera spanned the spectators. He'd been so engrossed in their argument at the time that he hadn't realized what a crowd they'd attracted.
He suddenly sat up and leaned forward, then backed up the tape and froze it on the awestruck face of one of the spectators, staring at Jess with devotion. The hair at his nape stood on end, and he realized with the sixth sense that had guided him throughout his law enforcement career that he had found the perp.
He reached for the telephone and dialed Vic's cell phone. After a short conversation, he then dialed Jess.
* * *
It was nine o'clock, and despite the incessant phone calls they were close to finishing their revision of Jess's schedule. When the phone rang again, Jess snatched it up impatiently. "Hello."
"Jess, I think I just figured out who's responsible for these murders."
She gasped in surprise. Doug sounded apprehensive. Despite her confidence that those she loved were not a part of it, Jess couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Doug, I'm sorry, but we're almost through here. You can tell me when I see you."
"Okay, I'm on my way over."
Jess hung up the phone. "That was Doug. He said he's figured out who's responsible for the murders."
Both Liz and Stanley's heads popped up in surprise.
"Did he say who it was?" Liz asked. She and Jess exchanged a meaningful glance.
"No, I didn't give him time. Are we about through?"
"Jess, are you sure this is what you want to do? You can see the turmoil it's created already."
"Yes, I've thought it out clearly and made up my mind. Two weeks from today I'll be a free woman. So, can we wrap this up?"
"Yes," Liz said. "Stanley and I just finished." Liz glanced at her watch. "And not a minute too soon. I have to leave. I have an engagement."
Jess winked at the young man, who had been such a valuable help to them. "That sounds intriguing, doesn't it, Stanley? Do you know who Liz's mystery man is?"
Stanley grinned and shook his head.
"You'll find out soon enough," Liz said. She pulled out a compact, checked her makeup, then stood up. "You coming, Stanley?"
"Would you like me to drive you home, Judge Kirkland?" Stanley asked.
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I have a little more to finish up here, and Doug said he would pick me up."
"Well at least lock up after we leave. Everyone's gone on this floor," Liz said.
"Yeah, I will. Shut off my phone, Liz. These phone calls are too disruptive." She arched a brow. "And enjoy your, ah … engagement. Thanks again, Stanley, for your help."
As soon as the two left, Jess resumed reading the transcript that had been assigned to her from another court. With luck, she would finish it before Doug showed up.
"Judge Kirkland, I have to talk to you." Startled, Jess looked up to see Stanley in the doorway of her chambers.
"Stanley, you startled me! I thought you left with Liz."
"I did, but I came back. You didn't lock the door like she told you to do. But I locked it now. No one can get in."
Jess began feeling uneasy. He appeared agitated and not himself. "Sit down, Stanley. What is the problem?"
"I did what you asked me to, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did, Stanley, and I appreciate it. Liz and I would still have hours to go if you hadn't helped."
"I don't mean tonight. I'm talking about those men."
"What men, Stanley?"
"Those dead men. I killed them just as you asked."
Jess was horrified. She wanted to run, but knew she'd never make it out of her chambers before he'd catch up with her. Obviously he was disturbed and she didn't know what to believe. She had to keep him talking until Doug arrived.
"I don't understand what you mean, Stanley."
"You know, those evil men. Gilbert, Bellemy and Sands."
"Stanley, surely you can't believe I asked you to kill them."
His eyes flared in anger, and now she could see the gleam of insanity in them. "Yes, you did. Why are you denying you asked me to do it? You said something has to be done about these criminals getting off on technicalities. You asked me for a solution. I did it for you, Jessica, because I love you. I thought you would be so pleased." His last sentence came out in a whimpering sob.
She wanted to scream for help, but no one would hear her. What was keeping Doug?
"But, Stanley," she said gently, trying to calm him, "surely you must know I would never ask you to murder anyone. I meant we needed a solution to these criminals being able to escape being punished for their crimes."
"And thanks to me, they didn't, did they? And now nobody can blame you for releasing them. I have a list from other cases, but now I won't have time to bring them to justice." He grimaced in a flare of anger again. "Thanks to Detective McGuire. I liked him at first, because he wanted them punished, too, but now I hate him for those vile things he's done to you."
"What vile things, Stanley? Detective McGuire hasn't hurt me."
He pounded his fist on the desk. "He has, too. Don't try to deny it, Jessica. I've seen the way he touches you. What he does to you. He treats you like a harlot. I've watched the two of you, squirming and rutting together like animals. In your apartment. At the cottage. It sickened me."
"In my apartment! How did you get in my apartment?"
His chuckle was more deranged than amused. "It was so easy. I took the key out of Ms. Alexander's desk and had a duplicate made. I used to watch you sleep, Jessica. You always looked peaceful." His face contorted with hatred. "I even watched you sleeping with Detective McGuire." His eyes gleamed with madness. "I planned on killing him tonight. He's as evil as the others I've killed. Now it's too late. I waited too long. He knows I'm the executioner."
She stared, horrified, when he drew a hypodermic needle out of his pocket. Oh, God, she had to get out of there. He had snapped completely, and was now beyond any hope of understanding reasoning.
"This won't hurt, Jessica. I'd never hurt you. All you'll feel is a little needle prick, then you won't feel anything else. Then I'll do it to myself. When they find us, we'll be together. Romeo and Juliet. Together in eternity, too."
She tried not to show her fright. "But I don't want to die, Stanley. You said you loved me. Why do you want to kill me?"
"I can't leave you to his vulgar pawing, Jessica. This is an extra-strong dosage, and by the time they find us, it will be too late to save us like they did Detective Peterson. I'm glad he didn't die, though. I really didn't want to hurt him."
"But we don't have to die to be together. We can go away. Someplace where they'll never find us."
For an instant his eyes gleamed with hope, then he shook his head. "No, Detective McGuire would find us. He'd never give up until he found us." His mouth curled in bitterness. "He's like a relentless bulldog. I'm afraid there's no other solution, Jessica."
Just then her cell phone went off, but it was in her purse in a desk drawer. She knew it was Doug. He'd probably tried the office phone, and when he couldn't get thr
ough on it, he most likely tried her cell phone. Knowing Doug, when she didn't answer either phone, he wouldn't let it rest. But what was keeping him?
* * *
As soon as he took Jess home, he'd have to go back to the precinct. He hated to break their dinner date, but he had to check out his suspicion about Stanley Haley. There was no doubt in his mind that Haley was the culprit.
As he approached the courthouse, Doug saw there had been an accident that was tying up traffic. He couldn't get near enough to park there, so he pulled into the courthouse's parking structure and drove up to the level where Jess had a reserved spot.
At this time of night, there were only a couple cars remaining. He saw that one of them was a gray Toyota. Curious, he walked over to it. Ever since Vic's incident, he automatically checked out gray or light blue Toyotas. Doug pulled out his cell phone and called the precinct. Vic had arrived and Doug told him to run the license plate number.
Vic was back a few minutes later. "Looks like your hunch might be right, partner. The license is registered to Stanley Haley. Where are you now?"
"On the third level of the courthouse's parking garage. Get over here with a search warrant. I'm going to pop the trunk."
"Wait until I get there," Vic said.
"No. The bastard could drive off by the time you get here. I'm doing it now."
"Dammit, Doug, wait and do it legally," Vic shouted. "Don't give the perp an excuse to walk."
"Hold on for a minute," Doug said. He'd already gotten a crowbar out of his car and proceeded to pry Haley's trunk open. When he raised the lid, he hit pay dirt.
"Vic, bring an arrest warrant, too. There's a wheelchair in the trunk, and I bet there'll be enough prints and DNA on it to keep this guy locked up for a century. There's rope and a plastic bag, too. Looks like he's got big plans for tonight."
"Well, stay put until I get there with the warrants. It shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes."
"I'm not budging. This guy's not slipping away this time."
"Just watch your back, partner," Vic said.
As soon as he hung up, Doug dialed Jess. When she didn't answer he figured she'd gone outside to wait for him, so he dialed her cell phone. He let it ring until the answer message clicked in.
He didn't like it. Not at all. He dialed the office phone again. She or Liz would have answered the office phone unless… He looked around at the other couple of cars. None of them was a Ford. Liz drove a Ford Thunderbird. That meant Jess was alone. What if Haley was with her? He dashed to the door and raced down the hallway to Liz's office. The lights were out and the door was locked.
Doug felt a little relieved, but couldn't figure out why Jess would leave with Liz without calling him. Unless she tried and someone didn't give him the message. He dialed Jess's home phone. No answer. He was getting more nervous by the minute. He dug out Liz's number and tried her. She answered on the fourth ring.
"Liz, this is Doug McGuire. Is Jess with you?"
"No. She said you were going to drive her home."
"How long ago was that?"
"About twenty or thirty minutes. Doug, what's wrong?"
"She's not answering the phone."
"Oh, is that all? I turned off her phone before I left."
"Liz, she's not answering her cell phone, either. I'm outside of your office right now and the lights are off and the door's locked. Was she alone when you left?"
"Yes. I told her to lock the door after Stanley and I left because there was no one else on the floor."
Doug's stomach flipped into his throat. "Stanley Haley?"
"Yes, he was helping us."
"Did you see him drive away?"
There was a short silence, then Liz said, "Come to think of it, I didn't. He was unlocking his car when I pulled out."
Suddenly Ben Kirkland's voice came on. "Doug, what's this about Jess? Are the two of you quarreling again?"
"I wish that's all it was. I've gotta go."
Doug tried the door again. He pounded on it, and shouted her name. Then he tried to unlock it using a credit card.
Suspecting the worse, he was becoming desperate. He looked around and saw a fire extinguisher attached to the wall. He ran down to it and snatched it off the wall, and then he hurled it as hard as he could against the door of Liz's office. The glass shattered and he kicked out the rest of the glass and crawled through it.
* * *
"It's time now, Jessica," Stanley said. He extended his hand. "Come over here and lie down on the floor. We'll be lying side by side when they find us. I hate to part with you even for a little while, but we'll be together again soon."
"You'll have to come and get me, Stanley, because I'm not going to come over there."
"Don't make this harder for me than it is already. I don't want to hurt you."
A metal statue of the blindfolded Themis, Protector of Blind and Swift Justice, holding the scales of justice set on the credenza behind her desk. Jess picked it up when Stanley started to approach her holding the hypodermic needle.
"Put the needle down, Stanley. You're ill, dear. You need help. I'll see that you get the proper medical attention you need. Trust me, Stanley."
"It's too late. I told you, Jessica, I can't desert you and leave you to the mercy of Detective McGuire."
He turned his head in surprise at the sudden crash of glass shattering in the outer office.
She swung the statue and hit him in the head. Stanley staggered back just as Doug burst into the room.
"Look out, Doug, he's got a needle," she cried out.
Driven by madness Stanley leaped at Doug and tried to drive the hypodermic needle into him, but Doug was too quick for him. He gripped the man's arm and the two men struggled for what seemed an eternity to Jess. Finally the needle flew out of Stanley's hand and Doug delivered a blow to the chin that sent Stanley sprawling to the floor, unconscious.
Doug came over to her and took her in his arms. "Are you okay, baby?"
"Yes, just hold me, Doug, until I stop trembling."
She closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of his arms around her. Her world was secure again.
Stanley was still dazed when Vic and several patrol officers rushed into the room. Vic cuffed him and bagged the hypodermic needle. They were just preparing to lead Stanley away when her father and Liz came rushing in.
"I'll bring her in for you to get her statement," Doug said to Vic.
Vic nodded. "Let's go, pal," he said to Stanley.
"Oh, Stanley," Liz said sadly, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Mollified, the madness no longer in his eyes, the young man looked pathetic and scared. He stopped in front of Liz. "I only did it because I love her, Ms. Alexander." He turned his head and looked back at Jess with the same worshipful glance she had always seen in his eyes. The officers nudged him, and he moved on.
Doug drove her to the precinct and as soon as Jess finished giving a statement of what occurred in her office, they joined her father and Liz at the Water Street Bistro. While Jess and Doug ate a late-night sandwich, Doug filled them in on the minor details.
"Haley confessed he killed Sands because he'd been the court reporter on that trial."
"Where did he get the wheelchair?" Ben asked. "You said you and Vic couldn't trace it."
"It belonged to his mother. She died several years ago and he had never disposed of it. That's how he got the insulin, too. He kept forging her doctor's name from an old prescription of hers."
"Well, wouldn't the similar name ring a bell with you?" Jess asked.
"His mother had remarried – her name was Kensington. When her husband died, Stanley had moved back in to take care of her."
Liz sighed. "I still can't believe it. I loved that boy. I hate the thought of him locked up in prison the rest of his life."
"He's a sick man, Liz. He's killed three men and would have killed Jess, too. Don't ever lose sight of that," Doug said.
As they lingered over cups of coffee, Liz and
Ben told Jess that they were in love and intended to get married.
Jess was flabbergasted, but delighted. As much as she'd loved her mother, it made her happy to think that her father was ready to get on with his life. Considering how she and her father had lived so long with the grievances of the past, it was good to know these ghosts had been put to rest. She looked at Doug with love and pride. And most of it was due to him.
Her father must have been on the same wavelength. He filled their glasses and raised his in a toast.
"To the best damn detective in the state. Thanks, Doug, we Kirklands owe you more than we can ever show."
Jess winked at her father. "Oh, don't underestimate me, Dad. I'll give it my best shot."
Doug grinned, and before kissing her behind the ear, he whispered, "No time like the present. Let's get out of here."
* * *
Later, as she brushed out her hair before retiring, Jess said sadly, "I just don't understand it. Stanley was always such a gentle young man. It seems impossible he could have committed such crimes. What do you think really made him do it?"
Doug was stretched out on the bed. "I think I understand, honey. Love for a woman can often make or destroy a man. I know how he felt. Both of us knew we weren't good enough for you, but neither of us could deny our feelings. Unfortunately, he channeled his destructively."
"Are you suggesting that your love for me has or will destroy your life, too?"
"On the contrary… I think I'm a better man for loving you. You showed me how to open up my heart with love and trust. Are you coming to bed, Angel Face?"
Jess put aside the hairbrush and crawled across the foot of the bed up to him. "What's missing in your theory, Detective, are my feelings. You see, why it worked for you and not poor Stanley is that this woman loves this man," she declared, poking a finger at his bare chest. "And those are the operative words."
He grinned and tried to sound flippant, even though his insides were revving up like an eighteen-wheeler. "And like the song says, 'Woman needs man, and man must have his mate.' Which reminds me, we haven't watched that tape for a couple weeks. How about it?"