by Janice Olson
“Well, all right then. Have at it.” Nate slapped the thick ring of keys into Jason’s outstretched hand then stepped back “Young people these days … humph.”
Jason fingered the keys before he held them out. “Do you mind telling me which one?”
Nate grumbled some more, shifted through several brass keys. He handed Jason the ring with the two keys sticking up as he glanced in the direction of the fountain spurting water up in the air.
“I see I need to work on that ol’ pump again. It’s going out. I sure wished Mrs. Madelyne would have taken out that old fountain before she went on.” Nate spat on the ground. “H’ain’t been nothin’ but trouble as long as I’ve been workin’ here. Goin’ on nigh fifty years.”
Ignoring Nate’s grumblings, Jason unlocked the gate. It swung inward on squeaky hinges.
“Guess I’m a needin’ to oil them too.” Nate stood watching, but didn’t move.
Jason and Robby stepped inside the small courtyard where the fountain with the noisy pump sat in front of a concrete bench. Jason fumbled with the next key, thicker than the last, shoved it into the lock, jiggled it a bit until it finally clicked. He lifted on the handle, pushed in, but met resistance. Something was lodged up against the door. “Robby, give me a hand here.”
“That door should open without a hitch. It did two months ago when I put the Mrs. Madelyne in there.” Nate had shuffled down where they were, hovering over their backs. “I don’t rightly understand what’s a holdin’ it.”
Jason and Robby put more force behind their shove. The door moved enough for Jason to get a peek at what blocked the entrance.
“Billy Jo!” His heart twisted at the sight of the small unresponsive body, head lying at an odd angle on the bottom step, torso crumpled and wedged against the door. “Billy Jo. Can you hear me? Honey, it’s me … Jason. Please BJ, look at me.” Jason sank to his knees, slipped his hand inside to grab her arm, but she was out of reach. He didn’t know if she was alive or dead.
“Is there another way in?”
Randy’s voice seemed to come from far away as Jason looked at the one he loved. He wanted to kill the man who had thrown her in the worst place imaginable.
“No. Only one door. Someone in there?”
The old man’s words jerked Jason into action. “Randy, I need your flashlight.” A hand came over his shoulder, and a beam illuminated the crypt. “Shine it down at the floor by the door.”
What he saw frightened him more than anything he’d ever witnessed. BJ blocked the entrance. Blood saturated her clothing. Her head sat at an odd angle on the bottom step. Bruising and dried blood were evident on her colorless face, and her mouth was slack and swollen.
“BJ’s wedged up against the door. You’re going to have to push, but carefully. I need enough room to ease through, but I don’t want to injure her more.”
“Is she alive?”
“I don’t know.” Jason ground out the words through his teeth. He didn’t want to think of BJ as dead, and disliked his friend enforcing his fears. “Push until I tell you to stop.”
Robby leaned his shoulder against the door.
“All right, now. Slowly. Hold it.” Jason eased his upper torso through the opening. He slid the rest of the way through, falling on his knees next to BJ. The door shut, engulfing them in darkness. Robby pushed it open again, sticking his head around the edge.
Jason felt for a pulse in her neck and found a small, weak one, barely discernible. He wanted to scream his thanks to heaven, but she wasn’t out of danger yet. Lifting her gently in his arms, he yelled, “I’ve got a weak pulse, call the EMT, now!”
Robby pushed the door open all the way; he grimaced at the sight. “I’ll call it in.”
The dim light of dusk filled the stairwell along with the flashlight in Robby’s hand. Jason’s heart twisted at the sight of BJ in her own blood. Swarmed with doubts, he cradled her against his chest, her swollen and battered face against his shoulder. He did what he knew to do best—he prayed.
Chapter 70
He exhaled, the smoke obscuring his vision for a brief moment. His nervous fingers beat the steering wheel with impatience wondering what was taking those clowns so long. Staying in his parked truck to watch the crypt, even after the patrol car had driven up and the cop and cowboy raced to the building, had been a risk. But he couldn’t leave until he made sure Goldilocks was found.
Never intending to go this far, he didn’t want Goldilocks to die. He just needed her to be scared enough to realize her life was worth more than the millions she would inherit. Once she did, he’d be on his way. One day down the road, he might visit her back at her little art shop as a customer and get to know her as a friend and … who knows, maybe more.
Sitting, watching, he knew he should’ve been long gone before now, but he couldn’t leave her. She was a part of him. He hadn’t planned on her being in the crypt this long, and he would have rescued Goldilocks before if those silly old hens hadn’t showed up to pay their respects to the dead.
He took a deep inhale on his cigarette before he slowly released the smoke, his eyes glued on the little scene playing out in the cemetery. When he heard a siren, he decided he couldn’t put his departure off a minute longer.
“I’ll see you soon, Goldilocks, but next time, we’ll become good friends.”
Chapter 71
The sight of BJ being pushed through the surgery double doors tortured Jason. The scene—Lindsey all over again. But Lindsey never made it to recovery. True he didn’t love Lindsey when she died, felt only compassion. However, Billy Jo was a different story. She was everything to him. She was what he had missed, waited for. He knew this now. And if he lost her this time, they might as well bury him right alongside her.
Please, God, don’t take her from me.
Uptight and wanting results, Jason paced the surgical waiting room floor. If he ever found the one that did this to her, he’d kill him with his bare hands and take pleasure in doing so.
“Here Jason, drink this.” Randi walked into the waiting room and held out a soft drink.
Jason mechanically grabbed the can and took a long swig, feeling the cold, tingling sting of carbonation trail down his throat into his empty belly. A bubbling, stinging sensation erupted like acid in the pit of his stomach. He breathed in, tilting his head back, closing his eyes to the fluorescent lighting overhead and wished this whole ordeal was over and done with, and that BJ was safe at home.
“She’ll come through this.” Randi placed her hand on Jason’s arm. “She’s a fighter. BJ won’t let something like this ruin her plans for a future with you. She’s wanted you and a house full of kids since she was a child. So we have to have faith she’ll be all right.”
“I’m trying.” He cleared his throat, grateful for Randi’s company. His emotions to raw. “I can’t lose her, Randi.”
“You won’t.”
“But you can’t know that for sure.” Jason looked at her and felt like a heel when he saw the deep lines of strain etched into Randi’s face. All his worry and thinking was about him and BJ. Randi was hurting too. “I’m sorry, Randi. Come here.” He held out his arms and gathered her to him, doing his best to draw from her strength and offer what little hope he had to give. He felt her shake with sobs.
Randi breathed in deeply before she pulled back. “Jason, I have to believe she’ll be okay. We’ve gone through too much together for it to end here and now.” She squared her shoulders as if ready for battle.
“You’re right. We have to believe for the best.” Jason glanced at his watch and at the clock on the wall. “What’s keeping them? She’s been in there four hours.” He rubbed his hand over his eyes and felt the sting of tears behind his eyelids. “If she dies I’ll …”
“Mr. O’Connell.”
Jason swung around and saw a petite nurse in green scrubs, face mask hanging below her chin, gaze searching the waiting room. “Here.” He met the woman halfway.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Wan
da McKinley, Billy Spencer’s surgeon.” She stuck out her hand.
Jason grabbed her palm and shook it, his eyes searching her face for a sign that BJ was okay. He found it in Dr. McKinley’s tired smile. He could see why he had mistaken this little slip of woman as a nurse and not a surgeon. She looked young and no bigger than Billy Jo.
“Is she okay?” The tightness in his chest, the knot in his throat let him know he had to hear the words before he could relax.
“Let’s sit over here.” She directed them to a corner of vacant chairs.
Jason’s stomach burned; he didn’t like this nagging suspicion something wasn’t quite right.
“Ms. Spencer came through the surgery and is in recovery now. She had extensive internal bleeding, not to mention all the blood loss from the gash in her leg. We gave her a transfusion. She had a dislocated knee and shoulder, which we reset. I repaired the jagged cut in her muscle and ligament, and when she begins to heal, she’ll need a few months of physical therapy for full range of motion.” The doctor took a moment when she looked at Jason and Randi.
“Is BJ going to be okay?” Jason didn’t want her skirting the issue.
“All I can tell you is that I’ve made the repairs to her body, and she should have no complications from her injuries once she’s recuperated, but—” The doctor shook her head. “—at this time she remains unconscious.”
“That’s normal with this type of injuries, isn’t it?” Randi grabbed hold of Jason’s hand, squeezing hard.
The doctor shook her head.
“What do you mean?” Jason knew by Dr. McKinley’s eyes it didn’t bode well for BJ.
“We are keeping her sedated enough to ease the pain, but not to keep her unconscious. As of yet, we see no signs of wakefulness or stirring, and generally by now there are signs.”
“But surely, with injuries such as hers, this is common.” Randi’s pleading voice added to Jason’s own anxiety.
The doctor shook her head. “No. Not normally. We found several bumps and bruises on her face and head, but we didn’t see any swelling around the brain. There are many factors why this could happen, but to name them would only be conjecture. There’s nothing more we can do but watch her closely. ”
“May we see her?” The words choked out through his tight throat.
“Give them about twenty minutes to get her settled, then you can go on back.” When Dr. McKinley stood, Randi and Jason did too.
“Thank you, Doctor.” Jason offered his hand. “I know you’ve done your best.”
They watched the doctor leave before Randi sat down and Jason paced the room again.
“Jason, come sit down. I need to discuss something with you.”
Jason saw the seriousness of her look causing him to do as she asked. “What’s up?”
“Before I left here to close up my apartment and take a leave of absence, BJ asked me to pick up the financial books from the orphanage, which I did. I think she just wanted to know how efficiently the place was being run or what we could do better.”
“And?”
“Well, that’s just it. I think someone is dummying the books.”
“What made you come to that conclusion?”
Randi glanced around then back at Jason. “Just that. I don’t know who’s behind it, but unexplained overages, expediting fees, and retainers are being paid to what appears to be a shell corporation. And when I tried to find out more, I reached a dead end.”
“Have you told this to BJ yet?”
Randi shook her head. “It wasn’t something I wanted to discuss over the phone, especially since I only have some of the paperwork. We were supposed to discuss the matter this afternoon. But when BJ didn’t show …” Tears filled her eyes as she twisted her hands together. “Mr. Hampton, being one of the trustees and also the attorney of record, I would think he would have copies or originals of all supporting documents. From what I have ascertained, he handles everything legal or monetary-wise.”
“How much are we talking about?”
“This year alone, five hundred thousand. And we’re what … halfway through the year?”
Jason whistled through his teeth softly. “That’s a lot in my estimation. Is there notation as to what the expenditures are for?”
Jason wondered if Madelyne had been aware of the shortfall, and if maybe she had approved of such measures. But why would they continue after her death?
“That’s just it. One hundred thousand went to expediting fees. Another fifty to Sam’s Maintenance.” Randi’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Is there a Sam’s Maintenance?”
“No. I’ve never heard of the company. With that fee they could maintain quite a lot.”
“And there’s a little matter of a corporation that no one seems to know anything about that is handling a big chuck of money—hundreds of thousands.” She shook her head. “Add it all together and it smells downright tainted, if you ask me.” She shook her head.
“What’s the name of the corporation?”
“TOVI Corp.” Randi took a breath. “I’ve talked with the attorney of record, Mr. Ferris, and he wasn’t cooperative at all. He wouldn’t disclose the CEO of the corporation. In fact, he got quite hostile when I continued to question him. When I asked the purpose of TOVI Corp, he said investments and holdings. Said the conversation was over and hung up. That’s just one more reason why these unexplainable expenses seemed suspicious.”
“I’m glad you told me about this.” Jason ran his hand through his hair, his thoughts scattered in all directions. “As soon as I know BJ’s out of trouble, I’ll stop by Hampton’s office and ask him. Surely, being the original trustee along with Madelyne, he would know why this corporation is being paid unusually high sums of money.”
“Want me to come with you to speak to Mr. Hampton?”
“No. But what you can do, once you get back to The Rose, is to pull out all records dealing with … ah …”
“TOVI?”
“Yes, make copies and have them ready for me when I go to Hampton’s. I want him to see our proof that someone seems to be taking money from Heritage.” He looked at his watch. “Let’s go on back. I’ve got to see BJ even if they’re not ready for us.”
Chapter 72
Sometimes loss of memory isn’t so bad.” BJ rubbed her arms. With the return of her memory came the nightmarish events of that day and the Loveless family crypt.
“Jace, it was hideous.”
BJ’s view from the hospital room to the parking lot was obscured by the horrors her mind conjured up. She stood, supporting herself on her good leg while leaning against the window ledge. She shuddered, chilled to the bone. The madman’s cruelty was beyond comprehension.
“I should have been there to catch the creep.”
BJ looked over her shoulder in time to witness Jason’s anguish. She should have kept her thoughts to herself. “It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have stopped him. He was … determined, I remember that much. If it hadn’t happened then, he would have caught me another time, another place. And I believe he’s the type who will keep trying until eventually …” Unable to continue, BJ looked at her scraped hands and jagged nails. In time the images would fade. But until …
She turned around to face Jason. “At least I’m leaving here in a few minutes unlike Reuben who has been here for some time. I spoke to the nurse, she said he’s progressing along, whatever that means.
“Yeah, Mateo said Reuben was doing a whole lot better and itching to get out of here. Hopefully soon. Both of you were a close call that I don’t want to think about.”
“I’ll be glad to get home and eat some of Martha’s cooking.” She witnessed a smile from Jason too quickly replaced by a scowl.
“Until we catch the madman, you are not to be alone at any time.”
“I can’t—”
“I don’t want an argument. It’s not safe. Next time he may succeed in killing you. You said yourself he’s determined. He’ll come after you again once h
e knows you’re still alive. And I’m not about to let that happen.” Jason moved to her side, pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on top of her head. “If I can convince you to accept my proposal, I plan on keeping you for the rest of my life.”
“Are you proposing?” She wanted him to but didn’t dare hope. They had wasted precious time and would have lost each other again if Jason hadn’t rescued her. Did she dare believe?
He pulled back looking straight into her face. “If you’ll have me.”
“I will.” Objections trembled through her mind why they shouldn’t but she didn’t want to tackle them right now. Another time when she felt more like herself. Giving herself over to the enjoyment of Jason’s warm embrace, she breathed in, loving how he smelled of outdoors and sunshine with a hint of spice. She would never grow tired of this man—he was the other half that made her whole and what she’d been missing since she’d been driven from Serenity.
A noise at the door caused Jason to release her, and a nurse maneuvered a wheelchair through the door.
“Ms. Spencer, if you’ll move into the chair, I’ll push you out into the hall. An orderly will take you to the back entrance.”
BJ settled into the wheelchair. The nurse handed her one of the potted plants to sit on her lap, before turning to Jason.
“If you want to go down and get the car, the orderly and Ms. Spencer will be waiting in the vestibule. Just pull up to the portico on Johnson Street and she’ll be brought out to your car.”
“I’ll see you downstairs, gorgeous.” Jason bent, gave BJ a kiss filled with love. He winked, giving her a dazzling smile that took her breath away. “Your chariot will be waiting.”
Jason, his arms full of flowers and balloons, allowed the nurse to push BJ out into the hall. He gave BJ another smile then was gone.
“I’m not sure where the orderly is, but if you’ll wait here a moment, I’ll find him.”
BJ watched the woman round the corner and disappear from sight. Her mind occupied with thoughts of Jason, she felt someone grab the wheelchair and begin pushing her toward the elevator.