by Vicki Hinze
He loved her. He wouldn’t give her the words; he didn’t have the right and she was in no position to accept them. But the truth was clear.
Sara teared up. “I understand.”
Beth looked at Joe and lost herself in her feelings for him. What a privilege it was to have them, and to be able to express them. Too tender, she went to the sink for a drink of water.
“What?” Joe stepped close, lifting her hair at her nape.
She spun to face him, felt his warm breath fan across her face. “I am totally crazy about you, Joseph.” There. She’d said and meant it.
“You’re not running anymore?”
“No.” She touched a hand to his chest.
“Why not?”
“What I saw in there …” She paused, then tried again. “Relationships are messy.”
“That isn’t exactly the response I was hoping for, Beth.”
“I’m not done yet.”
“Then please continue.”
She clasped his face in her hands. “There are worse things in relationships than fear of heartbreak.”
A lazy smile caressed his lips. “Still falling short, sha.”
“It’s a process, okay?”
He smiled, placed butterfly kisses to her eyelids. “You keep working on it, gorgeous. You’ll get there.”
She would. Not get there; she was there. It was admitting it that was hard.
“I don’t want choke marks on my neck.” Sara’s voice carried over to the fridge.
“Let’s go direct this death or they’ll be debating it till tomorrow.” Beth smiled.
Joe joined the others saying, “Break her neck, Darla.”
“Will that leave a mark?” Sara asked.
“No.”
“No.”
“No.”
Mark, Ben, and Jeff all answered at once.
“That’ll work then.” Sara stood and squared her shoulders. “Break my neck, Darla.”
“This has to be the craziest conversation I’ve ever heard in my life—and with my whacked-out family, that’s saying something.” Joe shook his head.
“Get used to it.” Beth patted his back. “Odd is kind of normal around here.”
“Whoa, wait.” Jeff looked at Sara. “I want every detail planned. Then Darla can break your neck.” He scanned the group, then stopped on Beth. “You’ll find her body—and it goes without saying, no one outside this room is to be told anything about this. One slip could blow it all apart.”
Darla wrung her hands. “It could, and then Nora, Sara, and I really will be dead.”
“And Beth.” Jeff motioned to her. “Sara and Peggy are right. NINA wants it all.”
Beth’s knees wobbled. Fear set in. Darla said this was operation Dead Game. But it didn’t feel like much of a game. Beth had seen what NINA could do, what it had done.
It was real. NINA was lethal.
And all of them, Joe included, were already on its hit list.
At 11:00 p.m., Beth found Sara’s body and phoned police.
Jeff arrived, called in forensics, and by midnight, the first of the reporters arrived outside the gate.
By dawn, the street was full of them, and flowers had begun to appear along the fence.
Sara was stashed with Nora at Three Gables under heavy guard. Peggy and Annie were at Crossroads, planning Sara’s funeral. And Beth and Joe were at Sara’s, which was less vulnerable than Beth’s. Even NINA wouldn’t enter a crime scene swarming with FBI agents.
Beth didn’t have to fake upset; stress was thick with all who knew the truth, and the grief honest with those who didn’t.
Sara’s funeral was set for Tuesday, and when it finally arrived, Beth was emotionally drained. Robert still hadn’t surfaced. Margaret, Nick Pope from Legal, and Henry Baines were in a world of hurt over losing Sara. It’d taken all Beth could muster not to tell them the truth.
Joe stayed by Beth’s side, helping her through touchy times. Peggy was first to note that not one of Robert’s friends had been by to express condolences. Beth never liked them. They were Robert’s, not Sara’s, friends, but Sara being alone and lost in their circle crushed Beth. Didn’t they know how special Sara was?
Apparently not, and that hurt so deep Beth spontaneously broke into tears every time she thought of it. She prayed hard, but how God could get Sara from where she was to a place she’d be happy, Beth couldn’t imagine. Seeing no way upset Beth all over again.
She thought about it while dressing for the funeral in a simple black sheath and pumps. While seated in church during the funeral service. While riding to the cemetery in the limo, and while seated before Sara’s coffin waiting for the funeral to be over. Sara had fallen in love with a man who’d lied, betrayed, and beaten her. A man who’d used and abused her. A man who wanted her money but couldn’t have cared less about her, much less her heart. She’d loved him with all she’d had. But her all hadn’t been enough.
And then she’d discovered his duplicity and been trapped.
Emotionally divorcing him and finding the love of a good man in the tragedy seemed like adding insult to injury. A man who loved her so much he pledged his devotion forever—regardless of whether or not she was ever in a position to return his love.
Tragic. Tragic. Tragic. And so unfair. Hot, fat tears rolled down Beth’s face, soaked her tissue. Sara deserved to be happy. After all that had happened to her, with all that was to come, how could she ever be happy?
Beth cried in earnest … and Joe seemed to innately understand what she was thinking and feeling. He curled a protective arm around her. “Have faith, sha. Greater eyes than ours are watching over her.”
Grateful for the comfort he offered, she leaned into him, and he held her while she cried.
“It’s been two days, Joe.” Beth’s nerves strummed. “How long will he wait?”
“Not long.” Joe looked across Crossroads’s entrance. Mel at her desk on the phone. “All the insiders think he’ll move quickly, before you make any major changes.”
“I thought Nathara being at Sara’s funeral was hard to handle. But it was nothing compared to this waiting.”
Joe swept her hair back from her face with a gentle hand. “You’re doing fine, sha.”
She wasn’t doing fine. Her nerves were raw, like they were on the outside of her skin. “We need to go to SaBe and check the freezer.”
“It’s too soon. You can’t show up at the office yet.”
Ben, Mark, and Jeff agreed with Joe. It’d tip their hand to NINA. Still, standing idle was driving Beth up the proverbial wall.
“Roxy took a quick look.”
He hadn’t told her. “Did she find anything?”
“No, but she was interrupted. Others arrived. She had to get out or be discovered.”
The evidence was there. It had to be. Robert wouldn’t trust anyone else with evidence on him. No way. “Did Jeff pick up Tack Grady?”
“He’s under surveillance. They all are.”
That was reassuring for her and Sara, Nora, and Darla. “I can’t keep avoiding my home. They’re going to find that odd.”
“You’re right. But with it on the Gulf, there’s no way to guard it.”
“So what do we do?”
He thought a moment. “Fake an injury here at the center. Trip over a rug. Then we can keep you here and no one will think a thing of it.”
“And tonight? What then? You think on it and call Jeff. I’ll go fall.”
“We’ll take you to Three Gables too. Easier to guard you all together.”
“How do we explain—I know. Jeff can arrest me for Sara’s murder.”
“No way. Damaging consequences to SaBe.”
“I wasn’t thinking.” She rubbed at her head. “The problem is I can’t think.”
“Nora would blister your ears for that.” Joe curled his arms around her, kissed her. “You need to get away for a few days.”
“Perfect.” She dragged a shaky hand through her hair. “If I
have to see my mother crying one more time, I’m going to lose my mind.”
“She loves Sara.”
“Yes, but it’s more than that. I told you she and Dad always have dreamed of living in Europe for a few years. They’ve been waiting for Sara and me to get settled so they can go without worrying about us. Mom’s known something was up with Sara, and she’s been nagging me to find a good man and settle down.”
“So she’s kept her dream on hold because even if Sara wouldn’t tell her what was wrong, her intuition warned her Sara was in jeopardy?”
“Exactly,” Beth admitted. “With all this NINA and Robert craziness, she’s been scared to death for us both. Now that Sara’s dead, she’s a basket case over me.”
“How could she not be? She loves you, sha.”
“Exactly.” Beth lifted a hand. “Seeing her upset, mourning and blaming herself … I can’t stand it.”
“Why is she blaming herself?”
“She’s a mother.” Beth sighed. “Anytime anything goes wrong with your kids, you feel as if it’s your fault.”
“But she had nothing to do with—”
“I didn’t say it was logical, Joseph. I said it’s the way moms react. Dads do too. Parents protect their kids. Period. It doesn’t matter if they’re grownups; they’re still your babies and you’re still supposed to protect them. When you don’t, it’s your fault. It doesn’t matter if it’s a freak accident or an evil man or an internationally feared terrorist organization. It’s your child and your fault.”
“Explains a lot about my mother. I never looked at it like that before, but I see it. Unfortunately with my family, she’s had tons of chances to take on guilt that wasn’t hers.”
“I just can’t do all I have to do, knowing she’s mourning and crying her heart out.”
“You’ll know it no matter where you are, sha.”
“But I won’t have to watch it. Maybe we can focus on ending this so she can stop.”
He nodded, pulled out his phone, then dialed. “Jeff, we’ve resolved what to do with Beth. Put the word out she’s getting away for a few days. You know where I’m taking her.”
“Got it. I happen to be at Ruby’s, and Megan is working.”
The village grapevine would get the word in warp speed. “We’ll consider the word spread then.”
Beth hugged him hard.
Beth tumbled over the waiting room rug. Lisa Harper bandaged her up, Mel insisted she take crutches, in case she needed to whack somebody to defend herself, and Joe got her into her SUV passenger seat. “You okay?”
“Fine.”
He slid in behind the wheel and cranked the engine.
“Drop by Sara’s. I forgot my purse at her house.”
Joe turned, and at the gate came to a dead halt. Two cruisers were in Sara’s driveway. “What’s going on here?” He whipped out his phone and dialed Jeff.
“I was about to call you,” Jeff said. “Robert’s returned.”
“Do I come in with Beth?” Joe asked. “Is Mark there?”
He trusted Mark, but then he would. They’d placed their lives in each other’s hands many times. “He’s here and he says, yes, bring Beth inside.”
Beth’s stomach roiled in revolt. She thought she was ready, but Robert standing in the living room with his back to her … She wasn’t ready. She’d never be ready to see him again.
“Think steel, sha.”
Joe’s whisper had the desired effect. She stiffened her spine and her resolve. “Robert?”
He turned. His face was scraped, his right arm in a sling. “What are you doing here?”
She hobbled over to the dining room chair and picked up her purse. “Forgot this.”
He glared at her. “You found Sara’s body?”
“Yes.” Beth glared back. “Where’ve you been?”
“Kidnapped.”
“I know that. I paid your ransom.” She paused, but of course he remained silent. “I mean after that.”
“They threw me out of a moving car.” He lifted his bum wing. “I didn’t fare well.”
“Apparently not. Sara was devastated. You knew she would be, yet you couldn’t call?”
“I called. That’s when I discovered my wife was dead and you had buried her.”
She bit her lip, teared up. “I did.”
“Did you kill her too?”
Anger surged through Beth and radiated off Joe. Jeff tensed up. Beth schooled her voice. “No, I didn’t. Did you?”
Robert lost it. “Get out of my house!”
She could push, reveal that it wasn’t his, but a glance from Jeff warned her this wasn’t the time. She started toward the door, paused, and looked back at him, then at Jeff. “Detective, has the judge signed that restraining order to keep him away from SaBe?”
Jeff picked up the carrot Beth hoped would force Robert to move quickly. “It will be ready by ten tomorrow morning.”
“Restraining order? Against me?” Robert scowled. “You can’t do that. I own half of SaBe now.”
“I can and will.” Beth walked out Sara’s front door and went straight to the SUV.
Joe got inside, started the engine, and slapped at the gearshift. “Am I going to have to muzzle you to keep you alive?”
“What?”
“If he’s Phoenix—and I’m sure he is—he’s going to kill you for that.”
“No, he’s not. He is going to do whatever he’s planning to do before ten tomorrow morning, though.” She frowned at Joe. “Jeff got it, why didn’t you?”
“I got it, okay?”
“So why are you ticked off?”
He backed out of the driveway and drove to the stop sign before answering. Then he frowned at her. “Because I love you. I can take NINA wanting my head on a platter. It’s been there a long time. But I can’t take them wanting your head on one. I can’t take the thought of—”
Beth touched his face. “You’re not going to lose me, Joe.”
“I could. You just put a target right between your own eyes.”
“Honey, it was already there. I just gave our side a clue when he’d strike.”
Worry flooded his face. “I wish I could put you in a cage somewhere safe. I wish I was sure I could protect you.”
“I don’t believe what I’m hearing.” Beth stilled.
“What?”
“You actually care about me.” The truth settled in and refused to be rebuffed. “Why?”
“I’m asking myself that very thing.”
He looked so disgusted with himself that Beth couldn’t not laugh. That insensitive reaction earned her a withering look that would have swept her off her feet had she been on them.
“Do you not see how much danger you’re in?”
“I do.” She coughed to hide a chuckle. “Really. It’s just …”
“What?”
“Worth it.” She let him see her surprise, her awe. “You care about me. One day, you might even come to love me.”
He stomped the accelerator, leaving half her tires on the street. “Sha, right now I don’t even like you.”
“I like you anyway.” Beth checked her watch. It’d be dark in an hour. “Let’s get some coffee at Ruby’s and then go check SaBe.”
“It’s been checked.”
“Roxy was interrupted.”
“No Ruby’s. We’ll go to Three Gables. Nora is having a fit to see you and Sara’s worried the fake mourning’s been too much for you. You can have coffee with them, then we’ll go to SaBe. I need privacy to get some backup in place.”
“That’ll work.” She leaned over and pecked a kiss to his cheek. “Get over your snit soon, okay? I like my calm, cool Joe.”
“I don’t do snits.”
“ ’Course not.” She smiled. “What was I thinking?”
He pursed his lips. “She’s going to drive me nuts the rest of my life. I can see it now.”
“But she’s crazy about you.”
He guffawed. “Still falling short,
sha.”
“Growing into it, Joseph.” She pushed her sunglasses up on her nose, hiding her eyes. “Quit complaining and just drive.”
22
Oh, my girl, I’m so glad to see you.” Nora enveloped Beth in a fierce hug, her whole body shuddering.
“No happier than I am to see you.” Beth hugged her back, then looked into her face, saw the pain in every crease and line. “I’m so sorry, Nora.”
“You know about Nathara?” When Beth nodded, Nora sniffed. “Can’t choose your family, dearie, you’re stuck with them. I did better picking my own—Ben, you, Sara, and my boys.”
Beth blinked hard. “You’re loved and you know it.”
“I’m a lucky woman. I told Mark not to even think about doing anything to Darla Green. If that girl hadn’t had the guts to stand up to NINA, I’d be pushing up daisies.”
“They’ve given her immunity.” Beth looked at Sara. “You okay?” They hadn’t spoken since Robert’s return. Who knew how Sara was handling it? She wasn’t holding her inhaler. That was a good sign.
“I’m fine.” She nodded toward Nora. “Not that I’d be indulged in being anything else.”
Beth smiled. Nora did have a low tolerance level for anything that smacked of self-pity, but good grief, with all this, Sara had earned it. “What are you going to do, now that he’s back?”
“I’m weighing my options.”
“He’ll be in jail a long time,” Nora said. “No need for Sara to rush into any decisions. His hands are tied tight. She’ll have plenty of time later to decide what to do.”
Beth knew what Sara wanted. But wanting and getting were two different things. “It’ll work out.”
“Yes, it will.” Sara smiled. “I don’t know how, but it’s on the altar. I can’t think long-term or even next-week-term right now.”
Sara was praying again. Beth choked up. “I’m very glad to hear that.”
“I’m very glad to be able to say it.”
They went into the cottage. Beth and Nora had coffee and Sara a cup of Earl Grey. After catching up on the news and details on what happened to whom, the conversation turned to Robert’s blood.
“I haven’t seen anything remotely like that at home.” Sara accepted a slice of chocolate cake from Nora. “But I know now why Jeff searched my freezer.”