Tonight You're Mine

by Carlene Thompson

  Numbly she went to the next article, which described how Paul had been released on one million dollars bond. And finally she reached the last clipping, which announced that Paul Dominic had fled. A nationwide search was being conducted for him, but so far police had no leads.

  “And he was never found,” Nicole murmured. “That handsome, wealthy, miraculously talented man just vanished off the face of the earth.”

  Carmen shook her head. “No. Less than a year later he died in that car wreck. They found some of his possessions that had been thrown clear of the wreck, Nicole. And the body—”

  “Was never positively identified,” Nicole interrupted.

  Carmen sighed. “All right, let’s say he is alive. What would you have to fear from him? He loved you. He killed for you.”

  Nicole looked at her with anguished eyes. “I don’t believe he killed them. I’ve never believed it. But he was arrested for their murders because of me. My rape gave him a motive. And what was one of the most damning pieces of evidence against him? My telling the police that he’d sworn to kill them.”

  “Nicole, other people swore he’d said the same thing.”

  “No. They said he threatened to ‘get even’ with Magaro and Zand. It’s not the same.” Tears filled her eyes. “Carmen, don’t you see? I was the girl he loved, the girl people thought he killed for, and I was the one who supposedly told the police he planned to do it. I betrayed him. He had a fabulous life, and it was ruined because of me, because of what had happened to me, because of what I said to the police. If he’s alive, he must hate me. Now, just seven months after I moved back to San Antonio, I think he’s returned.” She looked at Carmen, tears streaming down her face. “What if he’s come back because he wants revenge?”

  2

  Nine thirty-five. Nicole sat at the kitchen table staring at the clock as if she could turn back time to seven o’clock when Roger was supposed to have brought Shelley home.

  Nicole had called his apartment three times, each time getting the answering machine and each time leaving an increasingly angry message. The child should be bathed and in bed by now. Instead, Nicole had no idea where she was, and she didn’t know where else to call.

  “What does Roger think he’s doing?” she asked Jesse, who lay curled at her feet the way he always did when she was upset. “Is he purposely trying to make me worry? Is that more important to him than Shelley’s welfare?”

  Jesse looked up and tilted his head. “You’re right, Jess,” she continued. “Roger may be a jerk, but he loves Shelley. He wouldn’t abuse her just to hurt me.”

  Talking with Kay and reading the old newspaper clippings had set her nerves on edge earlier in the day. Mrs. Loomis had stayed until she nearly finished the cake and Nicole was too nervous to wait out her visit, so she had never gotten a chance to talk to her mother about her father’s nightmares or his behavior at home, which frustrated her even more. Now Roger was over two hours late with Shelley.

  She drummed her fingers on the table, angry and increasingly concerned. Where could they be? Certainly Roger would be wearing down by now after spending a whole day with his energetic daughter. After all, he hadn’t looked in top condition when he’d picked her up before noon.

  A thought suddenly pierced her mind like a dagger. “What if they’ve been in an accident?” she asked aloud. “My God, it never occurred to me to call the hospitals!”

  She jumped up and ran to the phone directory. She was looking up the number of the South Texas Medical Center when Jesse began barking and ran to the front window. Headlights flashed in the driveway.

  Nicole didn’t remember running out of the house. She even forgot to put on Jesse’s leash. They both dashed across the front lawn and through the brilliant glare of the headlights, which Roger had on high beam, to see Shelley emerging from the back of the Explorer. “Shelley, where have you been?” Nicole yelled, not from anger but from fear and relief. “Didn’t I tell you to be home at seven?”

  The child’s tired face crumpled. “I’m sorry,” she quavered, shying away from a blazing-eyed Nicole and bending to clutch Jesse who was jumping ecstatically at her legs. Roger clambered from the car. For a moment Nicole thought he was going to fall down before he regained his footing.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Nicole raged.

  “Lower your voice,” Roger said stiffly. “You’re making a scene.”

  “Answer my question!”

  Roger hung on the door of the car for balance. “One of my friends from the department was having a dinner. We went.”

  “So you decided to take Shelley along to a dinner party without telling me?”

  “I told you I’d give her dinner.”

  “Buying her dinner at a restaurant and taking her to a dinner party are two different things.”

  “Oh, settle down, Nicole. Listen, the guy’s wife is from Vietnam. Fabulous cook. I thought it would be a good experience for Shelley to taste some genuine Vietnamese food and talk with Mai—that’s the wife—about her life in…well, whatever the hell the name of her village was.”

  “I guess you also thought having Shelley watch you get drunk and then drive her home in that condition would be a good experience, too. You’re not even wearing your glasses.”

  “I am not drunk.” Roger overenunciated the way all drunks do when trying to prove they’re sober. “I had a couple of drinks. So what?”

  “You’ve had far more than a couple. But whatever, you could have called, Roger. It’s nine forty-five, almost three hours after you were supposed to bring her home.”

  “Sorry. I guess time slipped up on me.”

  “Sorry isn’t good enough, not after what you’ve put me through this evening.” Nicole’s eyes flashed to the other side of the car. A young auburn-haired woman sat nervously in her seat. She didn’t meet Nicole’s eyes. “Lisa Mervin, I presume.”

  “Yes. What about it?”

  “Roger, you promised me today was for you and Shelley only.”

  “I made no such promise.”

  “Yes you did!” Nicole shouted.

  “I did not. I am not going to keep Shelley away from the woman I intend to marry!”

  “I didn’t ask you to keep her away forever. Just for today. You sat right there in our former house and promised me when you knew you had every intention of meeting Lisa.”

  Roger glared at her. “What’s happened to you, Nicole? You’ve turned into a loudmouthed, carping, selfish bitch and I feel like slapping that sanctimonious face of yours!”

  “Daddy!” Shelley exclaimed, fear edging her young voice.

  Nicole stared at the man she’d once thought so stable, so caring. Her Rock of Gibraltar. The father of her beautiful child. Now here he stood, drunk, threatening to hit her, while his young girlfriend sat in the car watching. If she hadn’t been so furious, she could have cried for him. “Roger, I don’t know what has happened to you this past year, but it’s a damned shame,” she said quietly. “You used to be a very likable person.”

  “Likable,” he spat. “Likable, not lovable like Paul Dominic. You would never have married me if he hadn’t been killed, no matter what he’d done.”

  Nicole’s spine went rigid at the mention of Paul’s name, but she kept her voice steady. “Roger, please get back in your car and shut up. You’re making a fool of yourself in front of your girlfriend.”

  “Lisa loves me!”

  “She must to tolerate this kind of behavior. But remember, she’s young, she’s beautiful, and there are plenty of fish in the sea. Good night, Roger.”

  She wished Lisa would take over the wheel. She appeared more sober than Roger, and Nicole didn’t want there to be a car accident. But she knew Roger. If he insisted he wasn’t drunk and he would do the driving, he would brook no argument. Nicole felt almost sorry for Lisa. Almost.

  Shelley ran past her into the house. Nicole watched Roger climb unsteadily back into the car and the headlights weave to the end of the street before he
drove over a curb. Then Jesse drew her attention. He stood at the end of the driveway, his little legs stiff, growling low in his throat. Nicole followed his gaze.

  On the opposite side of the street sat a big Doberman wearing a red collar. For a moment the significance of the dog’s presence was overshadowed in her mind by her fear for Jesse. In spite of his small, battered body, Jesse had the heart of a lion. He didn’t like other dogs on his turf, and no matter what their size, he would attack. The Doberman wasn’t on Jesse’s territory, but if it made a move…In a flash Nicole saw Jesse’s throat ripped out by the powerful Doberman. Feeling slightly dizzy with the vision, Nicole called softly, “Jesse.” The dog did not respond. “Jess, please,” she said again. He wouldn’t move.

  Slowly she walked forward. She could feel the Doberman’s eyes shifting between her and Jesse. She was probably being very foolish. Her mother would tell her she was being ridiculous to risk her own safety to try to save “that pitiful excuse for a dog.” But she’d never acted with what her mother considered good judgment.

  As she neared Jesse, she expected him to bolt. If only she had a leash, she thought in frustration. But she didn’t. “Jess, I’m going to pick you up,” she said cajolingly. “I’m going to take you to Shelley, where you belong. Now be a good boy and don’t you dare jump out of my arms.”

  Normally Jesse rebelled at being lifted, but miraculously he held perfectly still. She stooped, wrapped her arms around his small body, and clutched him to her chest. With one look back, she saw the Doberman sitting calm and watchful on the sidewalk, its muscular body gleaming beneath a streetlight.

  When she got inside, she placed Jesse on the floor, closed and locked the front door, and went to the window. The Doberman was gone.

  She found Shelley sitting on the side of her bed, crying. “Mommy, I’m sorry to be late.”

  Nicole sat down beside her. “I know, honey. I shouldn’t have yelled. It was stupid, but sometimes grown-ups act stupid when they’re scared. I’ve been so worried, honey. So has Jesse. He’s been biting his nails all evening.”

  This elicited a teary smile from Shelley. “No he hasn’t.”

  “You’re right. He’s too vain to ruin the manicure he got at the vet’s last week.” The dog jumped up on the bed, climbed on Shelley’s lap, and licked her on the chin. “Did you have a good time today?”

  “Lunch at Planet Hollywood was fun although Daddy didn’t like it too much. I knew he wouldn’t but I love it there.” Shelley cocked her head. “I think I want to be a movie star, Mom.”

  “You’re certainly pretty enough.”

  “But I won’t do nude scenes.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Grandma would have a heart attack.”

  Shelley giggled. “Anyway, Daddy was grouchy at Planet Hollywood, but he got real happy when Lisa met us at Sea World.” Shelley stroked one of Jesse’s long ears. “Mom, I don’t like her.”

  “You barely know her.”

  “But I still don’t like her. She talks to me like I’m six.”

  “Maybe she hasn’t been around children very much.”

  “She was a kid once.”

  “Yes, but as you get older, childhood dims. You forget what you knew at six and what you knew at nine, almost ten.”

  “I still don’t like her,” Shelley maintained. “She’s always hanging on Daddy’s arm and talking to him and I never get to say anything. And you know what else? In front of people she kisses him all the time right on the mouth!”

  “Well, young lady, you know about mouth-kissing from NYPD Blue.”

  “Yeah, but that’s just pretend kissing. Besides, there aren’t a million people laughing like at Daddy and Lisa.”

  “I’m sure there weren’t a million people laughing at Daddy and Lisa.”

  “Well, maybe not a million, but lots. They were smiling, and they weren’t nice smiles. They were making fun.” Shelley let out a huge, gusty sigh and rolled her eyes. “I was so embarrassed!”

  Nicole couldn’t help smiling although she agreed this was inappropriate behavior between Roger and Lisa in a public place and in front of a child. Now she had one more grievance against Roger for today’s performance.

  “How about the party?”

  “That was even worse! The food was yucky and that woman from Vietnam told stories about people starving and babies dying. It made me cry.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

  “But Daddy didn’t want to leave. Lisa did. Nobody would talk to her. They acted like they didn’t want her there, but Daddy still wouldn’t go. Then the man whose house we were at said Daddy’d had enough to drink. Daddy got mad and we left. I don’t think his friends like him anymore, Mom.”

  Nicole hugged Shelley. “Today didn’t turn out just like you wanted, but at least you went to Planet Hollywood and Sea World.”

  “Yeah,” Shelley said disconsolately. “But I sure wish Daddy was the way he used to be.”

  So do I, Nicole thought sadly.

  Long after Shelley had finally fallen asleep, Nicole sat curled on the couch, thinking about the day. Who had been sending her father letters marked “Personal” for months and why had they apparently thrown him into a tailspin? As hard as it was to believe, she might have entertained the notion that perhaps he’d had an affair and was being harassed by the former mistress. But that little scenario was ruined by the final letter, the letter he’d set on fire, the letter containing a photo of Paul Dominic.

  Paul. Her father had disliked him. He believed the suave man of the world had seduced his daughter, who in his mind was still around thirteen years old. He thought Paul was merely dallying with her while he was spending time in San Antonio. Most of all he blamed Paul for leaving Nicole unprotected, for not walking her to the car where Magaro and Zand waited. But he’d blamed himself too for not keeping a closer eye on his daughter.

  Fifteen years ago. Such a long time. Who would be tormenting her father with reminders of Paul after all those years? And why? What had Clifton done? He was the gentlest man she’d ever known.

  Finally, she wondered what Paul Dominic had to do with all this. He’d vanished fifteen years ago. He was presumed dead.

  But she would swear she’d seen him at the cemetery. Could he have been sending her father the letters? For what reason? Clifton Sloan might have disliked him, but he had nothing to do with Paul’s fate. Although he was briefly considered a suspect himself, the police proved he wasn’t even in the city when Magaro and Zand were killed. Still, he’d never accused Paul publicly or privately of the murders. In fact, he’d told her he believed the original theory that Zand and Magaro had been killed by a cult, therefore the strange hoods on their heads.

  Finally, she wondered what on earth was going on with that beautiful, strange Doberman? Who did it belong to and why did it keep turning up, almost as if it were watching her?

  The phone rang. Nicole glanced at the clock. Eleven-thirty. Who would be calling at this hour? Roger with another tirade? No. He’d be passed out by now. Maybe her mother with an attack of late-night blues.

  She picked up the receiver of the cordless phone beside the couch on the second ring before it awakened Shelley. “Hello?”

  “That man who calls himself your husband won’t dare talk to you so cruelly again,” a slightly familiar, smoky-voiced male said softly. “Tonight I’ll give him a warning. But if he continues, chérie, I will kill him.”

  Six

  1

  Shelley was eating toast, her good spirits renewed after last night’s scene, when the phone rang. Nicole picked up the receiver and before she could even finish her “Hello,” Roger shouted, “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “I believe I’m having breakfast with my daughter,” she said coolly, although she could feel the hot blood of anger rush to her cheeks. Shelley had heard her father’s loud, angry voice and sat wide-eyed, her toast suspended in midair. “What’s the problem?”

  “What’s the problem?” Roge
r repeated in a saccharine voice. “You know damned well what the problem is.”

  “Sorry, but I haven’t been gazing into my crystal ball this morning. Why don’t you just tell me?”

  “Okay, I’ll play along. Four slashed tires and a smashed windshield, that’s the problem!”

  “What?”

  “You heard me, dammit!”

  “Yes, I heard you, but I don’t understand. Please stop cursing at me and explain.”

  “What’s to understand? I went out to the car this morning and found your handiwork.”

  “My handiwork!”

  “Yeah. Did you think I wouldn’t guess? You wanted to get back at me for taking Shelley out with Lisa and then getting her home late, but I think you went a bit far, don’t you?”

  “You think I damaged your car?”

  “Certainly. Who else could have done it?”

  “Since I’m the only criminal in San Antonio, I understand your logic.” She sighed gustily. “Roger, you really are losing it.”

  “No, you’re losing it. I know you’re furious because I don’t want to be married to you anymore and that I’ve found love with a gorgeous woman fourteen years younger than you.” Nicole mentally began counting to ten. “However, those are the facts. You have to accept them.”

  “Roger—”

  “Look, Nicole,” he said in a softer voice, “I understand your hurt and resentment, but if you don’t get your emotions under control and you keep up this kind of behavior, then I’ll be forced to get a restraining order.”

  Nicole’s breath came shallow and fast. “Roger, I have no desire to be anywhere near you. Now you listen to me for a change. Don’t you dare ever call here again with a lot of wild accusations or I’ll be the one getting a restraining order.” She slammed down the phone.

  “Mommy, what’s going on?” Shelley asked timidly.

  Nicole had completely forgotten that the child was sitting there listening to the furious exchange. She and Roger had to stop these destructive scenes in front of Shelley.

  “Somebody banged up Daddy’s car and he blames me.”