by Debra Webb
Sean pushed back from the conference table and followed her. He would owe his boss an explanation, but right now he couldn’t let Amber leave this way.
“Amber, wait.” He caught up with her at the elevator.
She jabbed the call button and reluctantly met his gaze. “We both have careers that need our attention, Sean. We don’t need any distractions or personal entanglements. Spending more time together would complicate things. I’m not ready for complications. Clearly you aren’t, either.”
He touched her, wrapped his fingers around her forearm. Even that innocent contact made his pulse rush. “We should talk about us first.”
For one instant he thought she was going to agree, but then her green eyes shuttered. “There is no us, Sean.” She pulled free of his touch. “I have a very important event to attend tonight. Everybody who’s anybody in Birmingham will be there—including your boss. I barely have time to pick up my dress from Martha’s and get ready. Goodbye, Sean.”
The elevator doors slid open, and she stepped inside. Sean watched her go. There was plenty he wanted to say, but none of it would come to him just now.
Eagle Ridge Drive, 2:00 p.m.
SEAN CLIMBED OUT of his car. Maybe he was way off base, but like his boss he wasn’t convinced this case was as cut-and-dried as it seemed. It didn’t feel right. He fully understood that part of what he felt was prompted by his feelings for Amber.
God almighty, he couldn’t pretend those feelings didn’t exist.
Problem was, he had his work cut out for him. Convincing Amber to give them a chance wasn’t going to be easy. He had to find the right words to rebuild the trust he’d crushed with this morning’s hurtful ones. Before he could worry about their relationship, he had to do whatever necessary to ensure she was safe.
He moved around to the back of Adler’s house. What he was about to do was breaking and entering. At least the house was no longer a crime scene. His boss wouldn’t be happy when she found out, but if he found a connection to a third killer, she would likely let his methods slide. He removed the lock pick from his pocket, glanced around and set to the task. He’d learned how to pick a lock from Buddy Corlew, but he wasn’t supposed to tell Jess.
The door opened easily. Inside the place still smelled like blood. He wasn’t exactly clear on what he expected to find. Mostly he intended to look until he was satisfied there was nothing to find. He pulled on a pair of latex gloves and started with the living room.
He scanned the framed photos, the books, unopened mail. As he moved through the house he checked drawers, shelves, cabinets and closets. Nothing.
Before closing the door to Adler’s bedroom closet, he hesitated. Might as well check the guy’s pockets and shoes. One by one, Sean went through his jackets, his shirts and his trousers. Nothing in the pockets.
“Damn it.”
There was only one thing to do. Check out Thrasher’s place.
Unfortunately, it was still a crime scene.
Killough Circle, 3:30 p.m.
SEAN WAS INSIDE Thrasher’s house without a glitch. As he did at Adler’s place, he moved from room to room, checking every available space.
He’d almost called it a bust, when he backed up to check a framed photo next to the television. A younger Thrasher with a couple of buddies. It wasn’t the sort of thing the cops would consider relevant; still it was worth a look.
“Well, hell.” Sean picked up the photo and scrutinized at it. There were three guys. Thrasher was in the middle, Adler on the left. Sean studied the dark-haired guy on the right. The kid, seventeen or eighteen, looked vaguely familiar. He flipped the frame over and removed the back. As he’d hoped, the names were written on the back of the photo. Thrasher, Adler and Guynes. Where had he heard that name? The three looked high school age. The clothes were definitely last decade’s.
Sean went back to the spare bedroom and opened the closet door. School yearbooks were piled on the top shelf. He grabbed the stack and went through the autographed pages. The threesome had been friends for years. Maybe they’d lost touch, but then why keep the framed photo displayed? People, especially men, didn’t do that unless the people in the photograph were more than a little important to their lives.
The senior yearbook gave him the answer he was looking for. Delbert Guynes had been injured in a football game his senior year. Making the winning touchdown, he’d suffered a spinal cord injury, which had left him paralyzed from the waist down. Sean skimmed the dedication page. Guynes was touted as a hero, as was his mother who always tailored the cheerleader uniforms.
Martha Guynes... Martha Sews.
She had spoken as if she hardly knew Adler. She certainly hadn’t mentioned that her son and Adler were best friends all through high school.
Amber was picking up a dress there today.
Sean shook his head. The theory didn’t make sense. Delbert Guynes was paralyzed and sentenced to using a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was a big video game player. Did that mean he was also a computer buff? What did a guy whose life consisted of being stuck in a wheelchair and under his mother’s thumb do for fun...or for pleasure? The videos. Maybe the cameras had been for Delbert.
Still, how could Delbert be involved with Adler and Thrasher’s criminal activities without his mother knowing?
Memories from his and Amber’s visit to the shop the other day flashed one after the other through Sean’s mind.
Were those shrubs lining the front of her shop azaleas?
Martha Sews, 4:30 p.m.
AMBER PEERED OVER her shoulder at the mirror. The back of the dress looked great. She smiled. “It’s perfect, Martha.” She turned back to the lady who had single-handedly kept Amber’s wardrobe fitting right for years now. Being what the fashion world considered petite was a real pain. Not even the most expensive labels managed to make clothes that fit her body. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Martha beamed. “I love taking care of you, Amber. You’re my favorite customer.”
Amber gave her another big smile before stepping back into the dressing room. “I’ll change and pay so you can call it a day.” It had to be five already. Thankfully that still left her enough time to get ready.
“Take your time. I’m locking up,” Martha called. “Would you like some tea before you fight the rush hour traffic?”
Arching her back, Amber reached for the zipper. “Oh, that would be wonderful.”
“Paradise Peach still your favorite?”
Amber almost stumbled stepping out of the dress. “Yes.” She cleared her throat. “But whatever you have will be fine.” Her stomach roiled. The ugly few hours she’d endured the other night had made her wonder if she would ever drink another cup of her favorite tea. Her response to Martha had been automatic. Amber’s grandmother had taught her to love hot tea. Louisa Roberts would be immensely offended that someone would use tea as a weapon.
“I have tea cakes if you’d like one,” Martha called. “You should treat yourself more often, Amber. You deserve it.”
Amber paused again as she wiggled into the unwashed jeans she’d bought yesterday. She tugged the sweater on next. The memory of rushing through the discount store grabbing clothes with Sean made her heart hurt. How had he stolen a place in her heart in a mere four days? She hadn’t meant to let that happen, but control had been taken from her so quickly her head was still spinning. Walking out of that meeting on her own today had been her way of taking back control. Adler and Thrasher were dead. She would be okay.
“You’ll love the cakes,” Martha said loud enough for Amber to hear. “They’re my grandmother’s recipe.”
Evicting thoughts of Sean, Amber considered that she really wouldn’t have time to eat before heading to the fund-raiser. A quick snack would be nice. “I would love a tea cake.”
She stepped out of
the dressing room, and Martha was waiting for her. Amber jumped.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, dear.” She took the dress from Amber’s hand. “Come along before your tea gets cold.”
“You don’t want me to pay you first?” Amber followed her to the kitchen.
“That won’t be necessary.” Martha draped the dress across the back of a chair. “Sit down and I’ll serve.”
Amber exhaled, feeling a burst of uncertainty. What was wrong with her? This was Martha. She’d known her for years. There was time before she had to get dressed. She needed to relax. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that it was Sean. Making love with him had touched her in a place no one had reached before. It was ridiculous. She barely knew the man and somehow it felt as if they’d always known each other. He felt like the perfect fit...her other half.
Ridiculous. Tomorrow Sean would wake up and realize the circumstances had triggered an out-of-control moment, and he’d never think of her again.
“Amber?”
She snapped to attention. “I’m sorry—what did you say?”
“I was asking about your friend Mr. Douglas.”
“Oh.” Amber accepted the cup of tea. “His assignment concluded.”
“So you were working together.” Martha gestured to a chair. She then placed a tea cake on a delicate china plate and set it in front of Amber.
“We were.” Close enough, she supposed as she sipped the warm refreshment.
“He seemed like a nice young man.” Martha settled into a chair across the table from Amber. “Quite handsome. I thought he was smitten with you—the way he looked at you, I mean.”
“I...don’t think so.” Amber sipped her tea to avoid saying more.
“You certainly appeared quite taken with him.”
Before Amber could protest, a howl reverberated through the house.
Martha jumped up from her seat. “Delbert?” She rushed from the room.
Amber sat there for a moment, wondering if she should check to see if everything was all right. The silence that followed felt entirely wrong. She should see if Martha and her son were okay.
Amber stood and the room tilted.
Good grief. What was wrong with her?
She stared at the porcelain cup. The tea.
Where was her phone? Her purse?
Turning around, Amber grabbed at that table to maintain her balance.
“Now, now, take care there.”
Amber tried to steady herself. Martha was suddenly at her side, guiding her forward. At least it felt as if they were moving.
“Martha...” Amber’s tongue wouldn’t work right. She felt horribly ill. Vomiting felt imminent.
“Don’t you worry, dear. I’m going to take extra good care of you.”
Amber leaned heavily on Martha. She couldn’t hold herself up anymore. She tried to plead with her...but the words wouldn’t come out.
“Here she is, Delbert.”
Amber felt her body plop into a chair. The room was shifting again. In front of her a man in a wheelchair stared at her. Delbert. Martha’s son. Behind him the computer screen that usually sported a video game was focused on a small room. Was that the dressing room she’d just been using to try on the dress? Amber groaned. She couldn’t be sure. Her vision kept fading in and out. She just didn’t know. She felt horribly sick.
“We thought we’d lost you,” Martha was saying.
What was she talking about?
“You’re the one he wanted,” Martha cooed. “Of all the ones we offered, it was you he wanted.”
Amber didn’t understand. She tried to move. Couldn’t.
“Rhiana turned out to be nothing but a whore.” Martha heaved a big sign as she knelt in front of Amber and tied her feet together.
Amber told herself to pull away from her. To get up and run, but her legs wouldn’t work.
“And Kimberly was a closet alcoholic. He just didn’t like either of the two the boys and I picked out for him. It was you. It had always been you. He’d been watching you for years. He said you were perfect. You were the one. I even tried to discourage him. How could someone as famous as you be bothered, but then I understood what I had to do. I had to make you available.”
Amber tried again to cry out. She tried to get up. Her body wouldn’t work.
“And those stupid so-called friends of his almost ruined everything. You just can’t depend on anyone anymore. They were only supposed to install the cameras on the candidates. But I knew when Kimberly went missing that they were up to something. The bastards were messing with those girls, and they killed them. But don’t worry—I took care of those idiots. As soon as I found out what they were up to, I made them pay. All I had to do after that was find a way to get you here. I’m sorry about the tea the other night. That wasn’t supposed to happen until I was ready. You’ll be fine, though. I was careful about the dosage.”
She tied Amber’s wrists together. “Now. We’re ready. I’m going to be taking you and Delbert to a special place where no one will ever bother us. You are to love him and take care of him from now on. He’s ready for a life of his own, and he has chosen you to share it with him. I’ll make sure you have whatever you need.”
Another of those eerie howls echoed in the room.
“Hush now, Delbert. She’s all yours.” Martha got to her feet. “You can play with her all you want, every day from now on, and she’ll take good care of you.”
Amber closed her eyes in an effort to stop the spinning. She had to do something.
Martha screamed, and Amber’s eyes snapped open.
Sean.
Her heart leaped. He was here.
He and Martha struggled. Amber tried to keep her eyes open, but she couldn’t.
The darkness consumed her...and then the silence.
UAB Hospital
AMBER OPENED HER EYES. She felt weak. Her brain seemed swaddled with cotton. She remembered throwing up in the ambulance. She remembered... Sean. He’d been right beside her through it all.
“There you are.” His blue eyes twinkled as he smiled at her.
Her heart squeezed. She really liked his smile. She liked his eyes and everything else about him. “Martha...oh, my God.” Her mouth felt cotton dry. “She’s done my alterations for years. How did you know?”
“Thrasher kept a framed photo of him and his best buds from high school—Kyle Adler and Delbert Guynes. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head that there was a third player in all this. When I saw that photo, I knew I was right.”
Amber reached for the water on the bedside table. “Let me do that.” Sean poured water in the cup and added a bendable straw; then he held it to her lips. “This should help.”
The water cooled her raw throat. She drew back and he set the cup aside. “I don’t see how Martha thought she could get away with this.” Amber shook her head. “They were helping her find a caregiver for Delbert. Why in the world would she do something so insane? She always seemed so normal.” The whole idea was ludicrous.
“Jess called a little while ago and gave me an update.” Sean’s expression turned somber. “Martha is dying. It’s cancer. The doctors have given her maybe six months to live. She doesn’t want her son in some institution. When she found out Thrasher and Adler were using her shop to video women changing and then sharing that video with her son, she threatened to call the police.”
“Wait.” Amber’s brain was still a little fuzzy from the poisoned tea. “Why did she threaten to call the police?”
“To make them cooperate with her. At some point after that she found out they were using the women for sex slaves. She killed Adler when she found out he was obsessed with you. She was after Thrasher next, so he killed himself. He knew his life was over anyway, so he ended
it himself. Martha found him and left the note.”
“The whole thing is just horrible.” Amber fiddled with the edge of the stiff sheet. “What happens to Delbert now?”
Sean took her hands in his. “He’ll be placed in a facility and receive the care he needs. It isn’t what his mother wanted, but there’s no other family. The important thing is that you’re safe now and the Pettie and McCorkle families don’t have to wonder if their daughters’ killers will get away with murder.”
“You were right.” Amber squeezed his hand, tears burning in her eyes. “Still waters do run deep.”
“Sometimes being right is not so much fun.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
“I was thinking,” she ventured. “I feel like maybe it’s time we learned how to have a real personal life. Together, I mean. Unless, of course, you really believe what happened was a mistake.”
“You’re behind the curve, Roberts.” He grinned and shot her a wink. “I’ve already started. For the record, I never thought what happened between us was a mistake. I worried that the circumstances were the wrong time and place.” He kissed her hands. “I don’t care what brought me to you, all that matters is that I found you. I want to explore what we have more than I want to see the sun come up tomorrow.”
That was the best news she’d heard all week. “I’m sure we can arrange for both to happen.”
“Good.” He kissed her lips this time.
Amber closed her eyes and savored the sound of his deep voice as he promised her the world. As soon as she was out of this hospital she intended to hold him to every single one of those promises.
Chapter Sixteen
3309 Dell Road, Mountain Brook, 9:00 p.m.
“She’s growing too fast.” Jess smoothed the hair back from her sweet baby girl’s face.
Dan tucked the pink blanket around Bea. He turned to Jess, took her by the hands and drew her away from their daughter’s crib. “She’ll always be our little girl no matter how big she gets.”
Jess leaned into his chest and closed her eyes as his arms went around her. “Is she going to be jealous of her little brother?” Jess peered up at him. “I don’t think I could bear it if they hate each other when they become teenagers. Lil and I went through that stage, you know.”