“I know you feel it,” he murmured, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. “And I know I made you really angry, but I need you to give me a break here.”
“I can’t,” she said, keeping her gaze on their hands.
“Why? And don’t say it’s because I lied to you or you can’t trust me, because you and I both know those aren’t the real reasons. If you didn’t believe you could trust me, you wouldn’t be with me right now. And don’t try to tell me that you can’t forgive me because I used you to get what I wanted, because you know what happened between us wasn’t one person using another. And let’s not forget the part where you were keeping secrets from me.”
She tried to withdraw her hand then but he tightened his grip. “Please don’t do this, Luke. Not now. If you want me to forgive you and assure you that I’m not angry, I can do that. But don’t push me for any more.”
He squeezed her hand then released it. “All right. I can be satisfied with forgiveness… for now.” He touched her chin to get her to meet his eyes. “You can trust me. I swear it on Terrell’s life.”
Rather than respond as her heart told her to, she said, “Let’s go see how he’s doing.”
Terrell wasn’t doing any better, but he wasn’t doing any worse either. Seeing the big, handsome man lying there like a mummy—as helpless as her mother had been—brought tears to Ellery’s eyes, even though she didn’t know him personally. Luke’s stories had made her feel like he was an old friend.
Mrs. Harris was optimistic as she told Luke, “The doctor said if he makes it past the next forty-eight hours, his odds of survival will start going up. He hasn’t come to yet, but they’re keeping him very heavily drugged because of the burns.”
Knowing how vain Terrell was about his looks, Luke had to ask, “How serious are the burns?”
His mother frowned. “The doctor said he’ll have some bad scars on his body, but there’s only one area on his face that was burned, on the right side, and if it upsets him too much there’s always cosmetic surgery. Anyway, Maria doesn’t seem to care if he has a few more scars.”
“That sounds like Maria,” Luke said with a smile. “I heard she was standing guard. Where is she?”
“I sent her to the cafeteria to get us some coffee. She doesn’t like to leave him, but I pulled rank. She’ll be back any second though. I like this one, Luke. She reminds me of myself when I was dating Terrell’s father.”
When Maria returned, Luke pulled her aside and left Ellery to chat with Terrell’s mother.
“I’m glad you decided to stay with him,” Luke told her. “I don’t want to name names yet, but I’m pretty sure the person behind the fire is very high up, high enough to get inside information from the sheriff.”
Maria raised her eyebrows. “That would explain why Sheriff Patterson has suddenly taken a leave of absence. I always did think he was a chicken-shit ass-kisser. At least he had the courtesy to assign a guard. Don’t worry, Luke. I’ve been crazy about Terrell for years. Now that I finally got his attention, I’m not going to let anything else happen to him.”
From what Maria said, Luke’s plan to speak with the sheriff was no longer viable, but at least the main reason for wanting to talk to him had been taken care of.
On the way out of the hospital, Luke told Ellery, “You know I have to drive back, but if you’d rather fly…”
Ellery frowned at him. “Wouldn’t that defeat the idea of us protecting each other?”
“I wanted it to sound like you had a choice,” he said with a grin.
She rolled her eyes and got back to business. “Have you thought about why Jones would try to kill Terrell?”
Luke glanced at her. “I assumed he knew that Terrell was suspicious of him.”
“Why?”
“I’m not positive, but I sent him the photo from the beauty salon and some conclusions I’d drawn. I dared him to find out where Jones was on May 17. He may have questioned him to prove me wrong. Or, more likely, he said something to the sheriff and it got passed on.”
“That makes sense. But have you considered the fact that if I knew you were lying about not knowing Terrell, Jones might have come to the same conclusion?”
Luke glanced at her. “Even if he did, he wouldn’t necessarily conclude that I’m a threat.”
She huffed. “Now who’s wearing the rose-colored glasses?”
“What’s your point?”
“I think you should go home, to Charlotte, before he comes after you.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been afraid of The Eye Doctor for twenty-one years. Now that I’ve come this far, I’m going to put an end to him, even if I have to use myself as bait.”
Until he’d said it aloud, she hadn’t understood what he thought he could accomplish on his own. He was planning to risk his life to draw The Eye Doctor out of anonymity. She might not be able to stop him, but neither could she just stand by and let him do it.
“If you insist on hanging around and being visible, I insist we stick close to each other as much as possible. I’ll drive back with you now then I think you should stay at my place. At least that way, you might fall under Brevowski’s protection.”
He made a face at her. “I’m not convinced that’s a good thing, but if it will make you feel better,” he let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh, “I guess I could move in with you.”
“You can sleep on the couch,” she retorted.
After they were on the freeway north, he said, “Thanks for coming with me today.”
“You’re welcome.”
A few seconds later, he added, “And thanks for forgiving me for not being completely honest up front.”
“I guess we’re about even on that score.” She sighed and let go of the last bit of resentment she had about his deceiving her. She was tired and tense, and afraid of all sorts of things she could and couldn’t see. For a few hours with him Friday night, she had forgotten all of that, and it would be really nice to reach out for that kind of respite again.
She needed to be stronger than that. She needed to remember that she was an independent woman who didn’t need a man to give her a false sense of security.
As hard as she tried to think about anything else, every train of thought brought her right back to the man next to her. Perhaps it was only because everything else that came to mind was terrifying or tragic or perverse. Or perhaps it was just him, and the way he got under her skin no matter what else was going on. Again she reminded herself of why it would be disastrous for her to get into a relationship with a man who so easily stole away her common sense.
Why couldn’t he have just one horrible physical, mental or character flaw on which she could focus? Even his deception had been for honorable reasons.
Ellery was suddenly snapped out of her analysis when Luke turned up the volume on the car’s radio.
“Inside sources say that no one has seen or heard from the star of Jack Morgan, P.I. since yesterday afternoon. His car had been left in a motel parking lot in West Hollywood and was identified after the manager called for it to be towed away. Ross’ agent swears this is no publicity stunt and begs anyone who has any information to contact the police immediately.”
Luke turned the volume back down. “What do you think that’s all about?”
Ellery rubbed her tired eyes. “Normally, knowing him, I’d say it’s a major publicity stunt. But now I don’t know. I didn’t tell you—only because it didn’t seem important—I got a call from his agent’s office this morning, asking me if I’d heard from him. They were worried already because of an important meeting he had. I can’t imagine how his disappearance could be connected to the suicide of the Neuman witness or Terrell’s fire, but somehow…”
“Yeah, I agree. The hairs on the back of my neck are twitching. Other than his attending the fundraiser and being interested in you, can you think of anything—”
“Yes! The senator asked me about him Friday. He said his wife is a big fan and they wanted to
invite him to their dinner party next weekend. I thought it was odd because the party is for some powerful Republican supporters, but I wasn’t about to question my good luck.” He gave her a quizzical look. “I need to get into that Sausalito house and, as Brandon’s date, I could have done that easily.”
Luke was torn between which statement to react to first. “What the hell do you mean by that? You’re not going anywhere near that house.”
Cocking an eyebrow at him, she retorted, “I beg your pardon? My mother died in that house. Brevowski thinks I might find the evidence we need there. I have to go.”
“Hold on. Am I to understand that you’re going back into the office? Despite everything we know?”
“It’s the only way. We’re close. You know we are. But if I don’t do this, he could get away with everything and go on, maybe all the way to the Presidency! Anyway, I know about him, but he doesn’t know about me, and Brevowski is watching over me. Discussion closed.”
“But—”
“I said, discussion closed.”
It took him a moment to shift mental gears. “Okay, if Jones is responsible for Brandon’s disappearance, what rationale could there be? Is there any way he could have some dirt on the senator?”
“I doubt that. He loves to gossip and if he knew something juicy about Jones, I’m pretty sure he would have shared it with me… and the press.”
“In that case, we’d have to put him on the list of murders with no apparent motivation.”
“Except the one in the killer’s mind. Isn’t that what motivates a serial killer? A private agenda of some sort?”
Luke filled her in on Terrell’s comments about serial killers, but wondered if the profilers had all been wrong in this case.
By two a.m., they were back in Sacramento, had turned in the rental car from Los Angeles and taken a taxi back to Luke’s motel. They decided to drive both her car and his original rental car back to her place, but first he needed to pick up his belongings. Ellery waited in her car while Luke surreptitiously went to his room. When he returned with his suitcase fifteen minutes later, his worried expression warned her that things had somehow gotten worse. Rather than explain, he hurriedly got into his car and motioned for her to follow.
As soon as they parked their cars in her parking lot, she demanded, “What’s wrong?”
He made her wait until they were safely locked in her apartment. While he conducted a search that included looking in every closet and under her bed, he finally replied, “Someone was in my room.”
“Besides housekeeping?”
“Definitely, unless the staff has started messing up rooms instead of straightening them. Whoever it was didn’t even try to hide the fact that he’d been searching through all the drawers. It was almost like he was letting me know that he knew about me.”
“You said he. Are you assuming it was Jones?”
“Maybe. Or Brevowski. He probably got tired of waiting for us to surface and checked out the room.”
Ellery rubbed her stiff neck. “That doesn’t make sense. I told him why you’re here, and he had already cleared you himself. Why would he search your room?”
Luke pointed to The Eye Doctor file. “Terrell’s files were undoubtedly destroyed in the fire, but Brevowski knows you and I have copies. Maybe he wanted control of the evidence. I really don’t think he can be trusted. Then again, maybe it’s another person altogether, someone who wants to protect Jones’ reputation at all costs.”
“Brevowski said something about Jones having friends who could cause problems, but I’ve never been able to figure out who any of the behind-the-scenes players are. Not that it matters. The important point is that someone was looking for something in your room, and the only unusual item you have here is that file.”
“Oh my God—”
His tone caused Ellery to freeze in place. “What is it?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
She punched his arm.
“Okay. I should have realized this immediately, but with everything—”
“Spill.”
“I think I made the wrong assumption a second ago. If Jones was in Terrell’s house to stage the fire, he probably searched it first.”
“And found the file.”
Luke slowly nodded as Ellery processed that bit of bad news.
“There goes the possibility that you’ve avoided The Eye Doctor’s hit list,” Ellery concluded. “That’s it. You have to go to the police or at least go somewhere to hide out for a while.”
“No police yet. Nothing has changed. We were already pretty sure he would have made the connection between me and Terrell. What it does tell us is that, if the senator got Terrell’s file, he wouldn’t have any reason to tear up my room.”
“Which means Brevowski had to be behind that mess. Well, he kept repeating that I should trust no one. Either way, you are going into hiding until this is over.” She didn’t like the fact that his only reply was a grunt.
Luke inspected the apartment again, looking for any sign that someone had searched her home. By the time he finished, Ellery was fairly certain that nothing had been disturbed, including her copy of the file. “That seems to rule out the theory that it was someone trying to round up all the evidence.”
“Not if it was Brevowski,” he countered. “He knows he can get to you anytime he wants. And if we’re wrong about Jones being innocent of searching my room, that still doesn’t mean he’d search here. It doesn’t sound like he has any reason to suspect you of being a threat. At least not yet.”
She made a face. “Geez. I feel so much safer now. You know, for an English teacher, you seem awfully aware of intrigue and covert activities.”
He half-smiled. “It probably has something to do with my misspent youth.”
His comment deserved a chuckle, but she couldn’t even manage a smirk. Her shoulders slumped, as though the burden she’d been carrying had suddenly gotten too heavy. “I don’t know why I thought I could handle this. I’m supposed to be so smart, and yet I walked right into a cage of man-eating beasts without realizing that the door would be locked behind me.”
Luke closed the distance between them and took her hands in his. “You know how I goaded you into having dinner with me? I used my intuition combined with my experience with intelligent women and guessed how to get to you. Brevowski didn’t have to guess—he used what he knew as facts. You loved your mother enough to face death for her, you believe in our system of government, you have political aspirations and, best of all, you’re a lone wolf. You never stood a chance at turning him down.”
She sighed. “I can’t get out now, and I’m afraid to move forward. What am I going to do?”
“You could try leaning on someone who loves you.” He ignored her warning look. “Just hear me out. I’m not suggesting you give up your independence or make me any long-term promises. Friday night you shared your body with me, and I loved it, but I was very aware of the fact that your body was all you let me touch. I could hardly miss the ‘no trespassing’ sign in front of your heart.
“I’m not asking for more than you’re ready to give. I’m only offering to be the strong one for a few hours. When the sun comes up, you can go right back to being the mighty Ellery, who doesn’t need anybody’s love or protection. What do you think? Can you trust me enough to let me in for one night?”
She was too tired and too worn down by shock after shock to keep her guard up against him any longer. His words worked their way into her heart, and probably because he wasn’t demanding anything of her, she let go of her fear and leaned into his embrace. For the next few hours, there would be no politics, no decisions to make, no threats to her life or career. There would only be warmth and security, and a man who seemed to understand her better than she did herself. Normally that would alarm her, but since none of what was happening was normal, she found his insight very comforting.
As he had said, until the sun reappeared in the morning, the mighty Ellery co
uld take a rest.
* * *
Sam Erikson knew it was time for decisive action. He just couldn’t decide what action would be to his best advantage.
According to Brevowski, Abe Jones might actually be some sort of psychotic killer. If that could be proven, it certainly would bring that bleeding heart’s political career down in flames. But big fires have a way of spreading. A sensational story like that would put Jones center stage in the media for a prolonged period of time… straight to the August convention.
He couldn’t think of anything positive that would come from that. In fact, he and the entire Republican Party could seriously suffer from the backlash.
The only solution seemed to be to eliminate the entire problem quickly. It was time to activate Plan B.
* * *
Diane wasn’t surprised to get the order from Erikson regarding an immediate change in plans. She had seen for herself that something was going wrong when Ellery gave her the slip. With minimal stealth, she had been able to get into Madigan’s motel room to see what she’d find, but someone seemed to have been there before her. Then when she’d searched Ellery’s apartment and found the potentially damaging information on Abraham Jones, she knew it was only a matter of time before Erikson would be calling.
He still preferred that Jones’ elimination not make him a martyr. However, under the circumstances, if she could not manage it creatively, she was to handle it any way she could, as fast as she could.
Unfortunately for Ellery and Madigan, they could not be allowed to live and possibly reveal what they knew about the covert operations around Jones.
She was somewhat sorry Ellery had to be taken out, but she was glad the assignment would soon be over. There were just too many wild cards in this game.
Chapter 21
Twisted Hunger Page 27