by Karen Rose
‘I know that in my head, but I still don’t believe it. The other reason I didn’t want her to know was that Mama would have never let me rest until I told her Beckett’s name. And then he’d kill her. Of that I had absolutely no doubt.’
‘I guess I can understand that.’
‘I was homeschooled for a long time, because even when I started talking again, it was years before I was ready to go to a normal school. Years before I’d let anyone touch me other than Mama and Maggie. If I heard anyone say, “Did you miss me?”, I’d be a mess for days and poor Lulu would get the brushing of her life. If Beckett popped up and said it, I was back to almost square one.’
‘It’s a wonder you didn’t have a nervous breakdown.’
‘I did have one. The first time he popped up was when I’d finally started at the local school. I was eleven. My first day, I was headed for my bus and somebody bumped me from behind. I dropped my books. I’d bent down to gather them and a man stopped to help. I looked up to say thanks and there he was.’
‘My God.’
‘Yeah. He said, “Did you miss me?” and then said, “You look pert near cooked” and tried to grab me. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, waking up. I’d run away, screaming in my mind. Ran into the street and nearly got plowed by a bus. I tripped trying to get away, hit my head. Ended up in the hospital.’
Joseph’s face had grown very dark. ‘He needs to die, Daphne.’
‘I know. But that’s not why I’m telling you this. These are the things that will come out if I have to tell grieving, angry parents why I didn’t turn him in sooner. Why I waited seven years to turn him in to the FBI.’
‘Who told you Beckett was dead.’
‘Because the county records department told them so. You think that Beckett faked his own death?’
‘It’s the most straightforward explanation. If he was dead, he’d be off the grid. He wouldn’t have to worry about anyone looking for him.
‘He could kill with impunity. I’d like to read the autopsy report. I wonder if he found a body or procured one by murdering the person. Somebody has to be dead to get the ME to sign off on the document itself.’
‘McManus was going to the county records office first thing in the morning, but we may be able to see a copy of the certificate on line.’
‘Can we do it right now?’
‘Sure. Let’s put at least one of these questions to rest right now.’
Wheeling, West Virginia, Wednesday, December 4, 11.45 P.M.
‘Hey, kid. Ford. Are you okay?’
No. I’m not okay. Ford looked up at the ceiling. Numb. When he’d first opened his eyes and seen his mother’s face . . . I thought everything would be all right. His biggest worry had been for her. When she let herself get worn down, she got a cold.
And every time she sneezed he still worried the cancer had come back.
When he’d opened his eyes the next time? It had been to see . . . nothing. Because there had been a goddamn pillow in my face.
He’d heard his mother. Her war cry. If he’d been Beckett, he would have been terrified. Now I know his name. Because my mother told it to me. Because she’d always known.
She’d yanked the old asshole off him like the guy was a fifty-pound third grader.
Don’t mess with my mama, he thought with a tiny spear of pride. She was like a mother lion, defending me. No. I don’t want to be proud of her. I want to be mad at her. Saying those things about Kim. They can’t be true. They just can’t.
She didn’t set me up. She didn’t fake wanting to be with me, just to give me over to Doug. Whoever the hell he is. She didn’t. She couldn’t.
Could she?
‘Hey, kid.’ It was that Fed. Novak. Ford continued to ignore him. Maybe he’ll go away. ‘You okay, Ford? You might as well say something to let me know you’re all right, at least physically, otherwise I’m capable of annoying you until you do. It’s one of my special skills. So one more time. Are. You. Okay?’
Ford blew out a breath. ‘Do I fucking look okay?’
‘No, you fucking look like shit. But you’ve been through a lot in the past two days. I figure you’re entitled. You got any questions?’
‘Like what?’
‘Like, did your mother tell the truth?’
Ford turned his head to stare at the Fed. Novak leaned against the doorframe, appearing calm, but there was an intensity to the man that hummed under the surface.
‘Come closer, please,’ Ford said politely and Novak complied, coming to the side of Ford’s hospital bed, holding his gaze steady so that Ford could study his eyes. Each iris was two different colors, brilliant blue and chocolate brown, split right down the center. He looked like a comic book superhero, too brawny and rugged to be real. ‘Do they hurt?’
‘My eyes? No. Because you’ve had a bad day, I’ll allow you one more personal then you gotta get back to business. Got me?’
‘Yeah. What causes this . . . uniqueness?
Novak’s lips twitched. ‘You are your mother’s son, aren’t you? Flatter and dig in one motion. It’s a genetic anomaly that runs in my family. Not contagious, not fatal, just cosmetic.’
‘Okay.’ Ford had many more questions, but he’d been allowed only one, so he respected the limit and got back to the subject he knew the Fed wanted to discuss. ‘Is she telling the truth?’
‘Yes. In fact, she left some things out, either because she simply forgot or because she didn’t want to hurt you more.’
‘Tell me, then. Please.’
‘All the stuff about Kimberly having a record for theft is true. We don’t know how she met this Doug character, yet. We know they’ve worked together on several heists – important to your story is the theft from a state trooper’s gun safe. That’s where Doug got the taser gun he used on you. Kimberly was an acquaintance of the trooper’s daughter. That’s how she got her entrée to the trooper’s house.’
‘How did she know the safe’s combo?’
‘Planted a webcam in the heat vent above the safe. Turns out she and Doug have used this method several times since. We have a list of guns they’ve . . . purloined.’
‘Are they . . .’ Ford swallowed hard. ‘She and he . . . ?’
‘Lovers? Probably. Recently? That I don’t know.’
‘Hell.’
Novak looked sympathetic. ‘Pretty much sums it up.’
‘So Kim did set me up, just like my mom told me.’
‘Yeah. I’m sorry, Ford. Your mother’s PI dug up a lot of this information. See, he has huge motivation to catch Doug.’
‘Finding me. Right?’
‘Partially. This is the other thing she didn’t tell you. I feel like you should know. She wanted to hire a bodyguard for you.’
‘I said no.’
‘So she hired one anyway.’
Ford’s eyes widened. ‘She did what?’
Novak lifted a shoulder. ‘You’d find out sooner or later. The BG worked for Maynard. Name was Isaac Zacharias. Maynard’s a pal of yours, right?’
‘Yeah, we’re tight. Mainly because he’s just my mother’s friend. I don’t have to call him “daddy”. Unlike some other people who were touching her way too much tonight.’
Novak arched his ultra-white brows. ‘Not bad, trying to dig dirt on Joseph Carter. I got nothin’ there, other than he seems to care for your mother a great deal. So, back to Maynard. That night you were taken? His pal gets killed. Doug nearly severs his head right off his neck.’
Ford’s gripped the bed rail when the room began to spin. ‘Holy shit.’
‘Exactly. That’s why Maynard’s a man with a mission. Zacharias was his old partner when he was a cop. Not sure your mother knew the severed head bit. I think Carter was trying to protect her from hearing it.’
‘Oh my God. Poor Clay. That poor man . . . Zacharias. He died protecting me.’
‘That was his job. He also fucked up, though, just so you know it all. Zacharias never ran a background check on
Kimberly, even though he said he had. He told Maynard that Kim was clean. If he’d done his job . . . well, things would have turned out differently. But Maynard seems like the loyal type.’
‘He is. I don’t think that’s a failing.’
‘Never said it was. I just meant he knows his friend fucked up, but he’s still keen on finding Doug. He and his assistant found the webcam in the trooper’s house. They also found the other cop houses that Doug and Kim broke into.’
‘She seemed so perfect,’ Ford said angrily. ‘Played me for a sap.’
‘Fitzpatrick searched her room. Found her crib notes. She’d been researching what you like, don’t like, music, food, hobbies. That’s why she seemed so perfect.’
How humiliating. ‘Hell.’
‘Was she your first?’
He scowled. ‘Because you’ve been nice you get one personal and that was it. Yes.’
‘Then this is gonna take a while to heal, man. Most guys get garden variety betrayal. You know, she cheats with a football player. You, it’s like you chose the Titanic for your first cruise. Upside is, if you ever go on a boat again, it’ll never be that bad.’
The Fed looked like he had more to say. ‘What else?’ Ford asked.
‘Your mom doesn’t know this part and I only know because I asked Maynard directly. According to Kim’s girlfriend, Kim and Doug may not have practiced safe sex.’
Ford’s stomach turned over. ‘What?’ he whispered.
‘Look, I’m not your dad. I’m not anybody’s dad. I’d probably be a lousy dad. But I am a big brother and, um, one of my sisters trusted her boyfriend when he said he was clean. He wasn’t and now my little sister’s not either.’
Ford swallowed hard. ‘Is your sister’s condition curable?’
‘Not at this time. Nobody’s saying Kim has any STDs. If you used a condom, you’re likely okay. You still need to get tested. Got me?’
‘Yeah.’ Overwhelmed, Ford covered his face with his hands. A sob was building in his chest and he didn’t know what to do. He heard a chair scrape on the floor, the plastic squeaking as Novak sat down.
‘It’s okay,’ Novak said softly. ‘If you need to let it out, let it out. I’ll close that door and nobody will come in. Or I can stay. Your choice. My feelings are fine either way.’
‘I don’t want to let it out,’ Ford said hoarsely. ‘Last time it wasn’t pretty.’
‘When was the last time?’
‘When my mom was sick and my dad was being a real prick. And my grandmother sold my horse to get back at my mother.’
‘How old?’
‘Me or the horse?’
‘You,’ Novak said, amusement in his voice.
‘Twelve.’
‘Hell of an age. What’d your mom have?’
‘Breast cancer. She was twenty-six. If she’d been her age now, she’d have had a nine in ten chance of being fine. Then, they gave her six in ten of making it five years.’
‘She made it.’
‘My mom’s a fighter. But me . . . I’ve never been so fucking scared in my life. Until last night. I thought I was gonna die all alone out there and no one would ever find me. And I thought Kim was out there and I couldn’t save her.’
‘Well,’ Novak drawled, ‘somebody would have eventually found you. When the snow melted.’ He sobered. ‘As for Kim, she didn’t want to set you up in that alley. It sounds like she was having major second thoughts because she was getting attached to you. Doug stole her sister, only fourteen. We think that’s how he got her to do his evil bidding.’
‘I guess that’s something.’
‘That’s what your mom was trying to tell you when you told her to leave.’
Ford rolled his eyes to the ceiling, miserable again. ‘God, I’m an asshole.’
‘Hey, I know assholes. I am an asshole. You ain’t one, kid.’
Ford looked over at him. ‘Thanks, Agent Novak. I appreciate it. All of it.’
Novak shrugged. ‘We’ve used the word “condom” in a conversation. I think you should call me Deacon.’ He stood abruptly and pushed the chair against the wall. ‘Try to get some sleep. I’ll make sure nobody bothers you.’
Ford waited until Novak was at the door. ‘Deacon, I hope your sister stays well.’
‘Me, too, kid. Me, too.’
Chapter Twenty-Two
Wednesday, December 4, 11.45 P.M.
Joseph got his laptop from his room so that he could search the online archives for Wilson Beckett’s death certificate. When he re-joined Daphne, she was pacing back and forth in front of the window, arms crossed tight over her breasts. Pausing for a moment, he let himself watch her move. The silk she wore flowed around her legs like water and he was keenly aware that she wore nothing under those pajamas.
He’d been keenly aware of that the entire time she’d been on his lap.
The entire time she’d explained what she should never have had to explain to anyone. Especially to me.
Beckett deserved to die for what he’d done to Daphne alone. Add to that her cousin Kelly, Heather Lipton, and the others . . .
But why now? Why was all this coming together now? Doug. They’d been so fixated on Beckett that they’d lost focus on Doug.
‘Doug did this,’ Joseph said. ‘Set this plan in motion. He kidnapped Ford, somehow convinced Beckett to be his accomplice. He found Beckett, for God’s sake. How did he find Beckett to start with? How did he even know about him?’
‘Damn good questions,’ she said. ‘I’ve been wondering that myself. The only time I said Beckett’s name was to that FBI agent, Claudia Baker. I imagine she filed a report. Could Doug work for the Bureau?’
‘God, I hope not. What’s Doug’s game? He makes sure Ford is found here, drawing you back to the one place you probably never would have come back to in a million years. You think it’s coincidence that Beckett came here to kill your son tonight?’
‘No. I think Beckett was manipulated by Doug just like we were. Doug wanted us to find the connection between George Millhouse and the knife used on Isaac Zacharias. He wanted us to find those weapons in the basement of Odum’s house. He wanted us to find the connection between the pistols in Bill Millhouse’s trunk and the tasers used in the alley. Doug has manipulated us into finding exactly the evidence he wanted us to find. That he’d manipulate Beckett isn’t such a stretch for me.’
‘He brought Beckett back into your life.’
She stopped pacing, her back to him. ‘I know. But why?’
‘To discredit you. To ruin you. To make you hurt.’
‘I got that much. But why? What did I do to him?’
‘Once we figure out who the hell he is, then hopefully we’ll know. But it must have been major, at least in his eyes. This is . . . a lot of effort.’ He sat on the bed and patted the mattress next to him. ‘Sit.’
‘Actually, I need to pace.’
‘Actually, I need you to sit. I can’t concentrate when you move like that.’
She turned to frown at him. ‘Like what?’
‘Like any way you move,’ he said dryly. ‘So please . . . sit.’ He opened his laptop and signed in to his Bureau account. The mattress depressed next to him, the whisper of silk taunting him, the scent of peaches filling his head. He adjusted the computer on his lap. Maybe I should have just let her pace. ‘I want to see that death certificate.’
‘I have a copy. It’s in my safety deposit box.’
‘I should be able to get to it online now.’ Joseph focused on the screen, not chancing a glance in her direction. ‘It was a West Virginia death cert, right?’
‘Yes, Ohio County.’
‘And you got it from Agent Baker?’
‘Yes. At first she just told me he was dead, but I wanted proof. It was my mother’s life we were talking about. I’d called the records office to corroborate it myself, but they wouldn’t give me any information over the phone. I had to mail in a request, which I did, and I was told it could be a month before I got the a
ctual piece of paper, but when I told Agent Baker that I’d requested it she said she’d get it for me faster. She did and then a few weeks later I got another copy in the mail from the state. If I hadn’t used the mail or Baker’s connection, I’d have to have gone in person all the way to West Virigina. There wasn’t an Internet back then.’
‘Yeah, there was. Just not for civilians.’
‘Which both of us were at the time, therefore my statement holds, Mr Phelps.’
His lips curved at her grumpy retort. ‘Phelps? I’m flattered. He’s one of my childhood heroes.’
‘Then your ears should have been burning all those times Paige described you as tall, dark, and dangerous, with a this-tape-will-self-destruct-Jim thing going on.’
His smile faded. ‘All that “raw danger”,’ he said, hating the term he’d heard so many times over the years. Paige had not been the first to use it, not by a long shot. Probably just the first to use it with honest affection.
‘I imagine that drives the women crazy,’ Daphne said quietly.
He looked at her then. She sat with one knee drawn to her chest, resting her chin atop it. Once again he was struck by how very young she looked.
‘Maybe it did. But I never cared. Not until I met you.’ A shadow of doubt passed through her eyes that irritated him. ‘You want to know what drove the women crazy?’ he asked with an edge that he couldn’t contain, yet knew she didn’t deserve. ‘It wasn’t me. Most of the time it was money. My father’s money. And for the few that were attracted to the badge, it was the perception of danger that wasn’t really danger at all.’
Her gaze met his head on, unwavering. ‘Then what was it?’
‘Just the stink of the animals I deal with every day. It rubs off on you, a . . .’
‘Malevolence,’ she supplied, understanding.
‘Yes. Perfect word. If any of those women had to face real danger, they would have turned tail and run like scared rabbits. If they’d had to face one percent of what you see on a daily basis as a prosecutor, they’d dissolve. If, as adults, they’d had to face a millionth of what you dealt with as a defenseless child they would never have survived.’ He blew out a breath, listening to himself. He sounded bitter and he didn’t mean to. ‘Some of them were very nice women. Others were gold-diggers that didn’t get a second date. But none of them . . . mattered. They fed a basic hunger.’