“We’ve got him, Nick.” Glen Cleberg strode into the room and touched Nick on the arm. “You can let him go now. We’ve got him.”
Nick did. He rose from the floor where he’d had Murphy pinned, and flew to Alyssa on the bed. With as much tenderness as possible, he pulled the duct tape from her mouth as officers worked on either side of the bed to untie her wrists and ankles.
“She’s bleeding,” Nick cried out. “She needs medical attention.”
“I’m all right,” she said. She threw her newly freed arms around his neck and began to sob.
Until this moment he hadn’t allowed himself to feel his fear for her, but now it ripped through him. Sharp…clawing, like a beast inside of him, his fear consumed him as he held tight to her.
How close he’d come to losing her. It terrified him. He would have clung to her all night long, but he knew he was in trouble.
His vision began to blur and he felt the darkness that he’d crawled out of only an hour before begin to sweep over him once again.
He fought it, wanting to hang on to her, to comfort her, but although he had been stronger than Murphy, he wasn’t stronger than the invading weakness of his own body.
“Nick!” He heard Alyssa’s cry as he slid into the darkness and knew nothing more.
Dawn had streaked the eastern sky an hour before as Alyssa stood at Nick’s hospital-room window. She’d watched the sun peek over the horizon, then climb out of bed at full strength to promise another hot day.
She glanced at Nick, who was sleeping, then looked out the window once again. She had ridden in the ambulance that had brought him to the hospital and had only left his side when the doctor had re-stitched the wound in his back, stitched up his forearm and gotten him hooked back up to an IV.
The horror of the night had slowly begun to pass. Her wound, a nick of Murphy’s knife on her chest, had been cleaned and bandaged, she’d showered to wash away his touch and was dressed in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt that one of the nurses had offered her.
“Hell of a night.”
She turned from the window to see him smiling, that sexy, beautiful smile that twisted her insides in a way no other smile had ever done.
“You should be exhausted, Agent Mead,” she said as she moved from the window to sit in the chair next to his bed. “It isn’t every night a man catches not one but two serial killers.”
“Murphy?” he asked.
“Is in jail. I told Chief Cleberg about your wife and the other cases in Chicago. Murphy isn’t going anywhere.”
Nick’s hand reached for hers and she welcomed the warmth of his fingers curling around hers. “Alyssa…about last night in the café. I didn’t mean what I said to you.”
“It’s all right,” she assured him. “I know you were trying to draw out Virginia.”
“No, that was just an added benefit to my little show.” He pressed a button to raise the head of his bed, a slight grimace sweeping over his features. “I staged that little scene in the café for Murphy’s benefit. It was a stupid idea, but I needed to distance you from me as fast as possible. It was the only thing I could think of to do.”
His hand squeezed hers. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
She could see the torment in his eyes as he held her gaze intently. She knew what he was asking and she quickly shook her head. “No, he scared me terribly and he pricked my chest with his knife point, but he didn’t really hurt me. He didn’t touch me.”
Nick closed his eyes, as if his relief was too much to bear. “I brought him to you.” His near whisper held enough guilt, enough remorse, to last an eternity.
Alyssa leaned over him and placed her free hand on his heart. “And then you saved me from him,” she said softly. “And now it’s all over…my vision, the killings, it’s all over, Nick.”
His eyes opened and he visibly relaxed. “Yes, it’s all over. I’m free of Murphy and Cherokee Corners is free of Virginia and you’re free of the vision that has been haunting you for so long.”
He withdrew his hand from hers and instead raised it to lightly stroke down the side of her face. “Unfortunately, I’m not free of you.” He dropped his hand and once again closed his eyes.
Alyssa sat motionless waiting for him to continue. She began to think he’d fallen back asleep, when his eyes opened once again. “I have no right to ask this of you…not after what I put you through last night, but I want you to come with me when I leave here. I love you, Alyssa, and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you.”
The last thing Alyssa had been expecting were the words that came out of his mouth. They brought to her an incredible joy, but the joy was short-lived.
She knew Nick was being pumped full of antibiotics and pain medication. They had both been through a horrible night and emotions were closer to the surface than usual.
Alyssa still felt the lingering ugliness of her moments with Murphy. The darkness of her vision hadn’t quite receded. Now wasn’t the time to speak of love. “Nick…” She wasn’t sure what she was going to say and was grateful when he held up a hand to still her.
“Don’t answer me now,” he said. “Take some time and think about it. I love you, Alyssa, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but you know what I do for a living and you have to decide if you can live with that.”
It was obvious he was growing tired and Alyssa knew what he needed was to sleep…and she needed to think, to process everything that had happened in such a short space of time.
“Go home, sweetheart,” Nick said softly. “Go home and sleep, go home and plan what you want your future to be.” His eyes drifted closed and she knew the pain medicine had put him to sleep.
She stood for a long moment watching him and tears pressed hot against her eyelids. He loved her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
You will live your life alone, my little one. Her grandmother’s words echoed in her head as she was driven home by Jason Sheller for the second time in the last twenty-four hours.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Jason said as he pulled out of the hospital parking lot.
“Trust me, there’s nothing I’d like more,” she replied. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Fragments of pictures played in her mind… Virginia stabbing Nick in the park…Murphy promising her a painful death… Nick’s confession of love.
It was too much…all of it was too much, and she was too tired to make sense of it all. He loves me. Her heart jumped with the sheer magic of those words, but underlying the joy was the thought of her grandmother’s words.
You will live your life alone, my little one.
Tears once again sprang to her eyes. He loved her and he wanted to build a future with her, spend his life loving her, but she was afraid to ignore the vision her grandmother had seen for her.
She was afraid that Nick would only love her temporarily, then he’d grow tired of her visions, her blackouts, her craziness, and he’d leave and once again she’d be alone. Only this time she’d have no bed-and-breakfast, no temporary guests, nothing to assuage the emptiness that would be left behind.
Not having Nick’s love at all would be far easier than having it temporarily. She couldn’t stand the thought of building a life with Nick for days…weeks…months, then only to have it all fall apart.
Better to live her life alone…better to heed the vision that her grandmother had shared with her.
“You want me to call somebody for you?” Jason offered when he pulled up in front of the bed-and-breakfast.
“No, it’s too early to bother anyone,” she replied. “I’ll be fine.” She didn’t want to see anyone right now, not with her heart so heavy.
She was only grateful she managed to get up the stairs and to the bed in the blue bedroom where she and Nick had loved before the tears truly began to fall.
Chapter 16
“Looks like a flower shop in here.” Glen Cleberg leaned closer to r
ead the card of a particularly large arrangement that had been delivered to Nick’s hospital room.
“Yeah, they started arriving yesterday and haven’t stopped.” Nick sat on the side of the hospital bed to put on his shoes.
“The town is grateful to you, Nick.” Glen shoved his hands in his pockets, a frown raking across his broad forehead. “We should have had Virginia a month ago. We should have checked her background more closely immediately after Greg’s murder.”
Nick stood from the bed. “What have you found out about her?” he asked curiously.
“It would appear that our Mrs. Maxwell was married before and that husband died under suspicious circumstances. She got a hefty insurance-policy pay off, spent it, then when she was broke hooked up with Greg. We’re also checking out the possibility of an other husband before that one.”
“Sounds like what you have here is a genuine black widow. When you get all the information on her, I hope you’ll send it to me at the Tulsa office.” The woman had fooled them all with her waiflike helplessness and easy tears. She might have killed her husbands for money, but she’d continued to kill be cause she liked it. She liked the feeling of control it gave her.
“Of course. So, I suppose you’ll be leaving here soon?” Probably sometime this afternoon.” A wave of depression swept over Nick as he thought of leaving Cherokee Corners and Alyssa behind.
Glen’s frown deepened. “Are you sure you’re fit to drive?”
“I’m fine. My shoulder and arm will heal nicely thanks to the good work of the doctor.” Unfortunately, his heart hadn’t fared as well.
“I’ve already heard from the authorities in both Chicago and Tulsa. It seems Murphy is a popular man…they both want him badly.”
Nick felt a peaceful satisfaction as he thought of the man who had killed so many women, including Dorrie. By the time he was convicted and sentenced for all his crimes, Murphy would die in prison.
“You got a ride out of here?” Glen asked.
Nick nodded. “Bud is coming to pick me up and take me back to the bed-and-breakfast.”
“Sure you don’t want to stick around town for another day or two? The fall festival starts tomorrow. Things will be hopping out at the cultural center.”
“Thanks, but my work here is done and it’s time for me to get back to my life in Tulsa.”
“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your help.” Glen held out his hand to Nick. “You’re a good cop, Agent Mead, and one hell of a nice guy.”
Nick gripped the chief’s hand in a firm shake.
“And you have a fine force here and a beautiful town.”
As their hands dropped back to their sides, Bud entered the hospital room. “All set?” he asked.
Nick nodded, then turned back to Chief Cleberg. Thanks for all your hospitality while we’ve been here.”
“I speak for the whole town when I tell you that we appreciate what you and your team accomplished. Men will be able to sleep peacefully once again.”
Minutes later Nick sat in Bud’s passenger seat as Bud drove him to the Redbud. The two men made small talk, but Nick’s mind was filled with thoughts of Alyssa.
She wasn’t going to go with him to Tulsa. Even though she hadn’t actually rejected his proposal, he knew the answer by the fact that for the past twenty-four hours he’d heard nothing from her.
A woman who was in love with a man and planned to spend the rest of her life with him didn’t allow him to languish alone in a hospital room.
He’d known she was going to tell him no the moment he’d asked her to share his life. There had been a flicker of joy in her eyes, followed by a shadowed darkness that had ripped his heart into pieces. He’d seen her answer in that darkness and knew he’d be returning to Tulsa and a solitary life.
Bud pulled up along the curb in front of the bed-and-breakfast. “You sure you’re all right to make the drive back home alone?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Nick assured him. “It isn’t that long a drive back.”
“Then I guess we’ll see you later,” Bud said as Nick got out of the car. “Drive safely.”
“You guys do the same.”
Nick stood at the curb and watched as Bud pulled away, then he turned and faced the bed-and-breakfast. It was over. The murders had been solved and his time here in Cherokee Corners, his time here with Alyssa, was over.
As crazy as it sounded, this seemed to hurt even more than losing Dorrie. Dorrie had been stolen from him by a madman. Alyssa was making the choice not to be with him and that hurt more than anything Nick had ever experienced.
He drew a deep breath and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. As he walked, he glanced at his wristwatch. It was just after eleven. He could pack up and be on the road back to Tulsa by noon.
She met him at the door and the sight of her filled him with an ache that rivaled the throbbing pain of his shoulder wound. “Nick.” His very name from her lips sounded as if it was filled with her pain. She started to reach up to grasp the ends of her hair, letting him know she was unsettled…nervous.
He didn’t want to make her nervous. He knew you couldn’t get blood out of a turnip, nor could you make a woman love you enough to give up everything she knew to build a new kind of life.
“I’m just here to pack up my things and check out. I’m driving back to Tulsa today,” he said. He headed for the stairs, wanting to make it as easy as possible for her…for him. Best to just get it over with and get out of here.
The bedroom brought a new wave of heartbreak for him as he looked at the bed where he and Alyssa had made love, had shared secrets, had held each other while stormy forces raged around them.
As he packed his clothes into the suitcase he’d brought with him when he’d first arrived, he told himself that he couldn’t blame her for not accepting his proposal. With her visions, her life was filled with enough chaos. Marrying a criminal profiler who specialized in serial killers would only add more chaos to her life and mind.
It took a little longer to pack up the files he had and his laptop. When he was finished packing, he carried his things down the stairs and found Alyssa in the living room of her private quarters.
When Alyssa saw him she held out an invoice she’d apparently prepared while he’d been packing. She didn’t meet his gaze and she wore a look of miserable pain on her face.
He took the invoice from her, then drew a finger down the side of her face. She closed her eyes, as if his very touch only deepened her pain. When she opened her eyes and looked at him, her eyes swam with tears.
“Don’t,” he said softly, unable to stand her pain. “It’s all right, baby. As much as I’d love to make you love me enough to want to marry me, I know I can’t.”
She stepped back from him, away from his touch. “Oh, Nick…it’s not about loving you enough. I can’t imagine loving anyone as much as I love you.”
Nick stared at her in confusion. “Then what is it? What’s keeping you from marrying me, from spending your life with me? Is it this place? Do you not want to leave here?”
She shook her head. He watched as she walked across the small room to the bookcase that held the array of baskets. She picked one up in her hands as tears trekked down her cheeks.
“I’ve told you before that my grandmother had visions like me. She was a wisewoman who tried to teach me everything she could about my visions and what I’d need to survive the darkness of the sight.” She worried the basket in both her hands. “But one of the things she told me was of her vision of my life, and that vision was that I would always live alone, be alone.”
He took the basket from her and placed it back on the shelf, then placed his hands on her shoulders. “And you believe your grandmother’s vision for your future over the one you must see in my eyes? Your grandmother had the sight and wasn’t alone. She had a daughter and she had you.”
She refused to meet his gaze and instead once again stepped away from him. Still, hope rose inside him as he real
ized love wasn’t the problem. She loved him.
It was the vision of a dead woman that was stopping her from committing to him.
“Alyssa…you had a vision of me dying beneath a gnarled tree. We changed the ending of that vision. Just because your grandmother saw your life one way doesn’t mean that it’s the way it has to be.”
“You don’t understand,” she said softly, still not meeting his gaze. “I can’t do this, Nick. My place is here, my life is here…alone.” There was a finality to her words that sounded a death knell inside him.
“With your temporary boarders that keep you from ever having to emotionally invest in anyone.” He picked up his suitcase and briefcase. “In the time I’ve been here, I had come to believe that you were the bravest woman I’ve ever met. Now I see the truth, that you have more than a little bit of coward inside you.”
Finally she looked at him, her expression radiating surprise. “I’m not a coward,” she replied.
There was no point in continuing the conversation. He couldn’t stand to be in this room, seeing the tears in her eyes, knowing they weren’t going to share a future together. “I’ve got to go,” he finally said. “I want to stop over at Ruby’s and say goodbye before leaving town.”
He gazed at her another long moment. “This isn’t your grandmother’s vision coming true, this is you choosing to make it so. You’re living a self-fulfilling prophecy that will keep you alone.”
As he turned and left her quarters, he prayed that she would stop him, that she would cry out his name and throw herself into his arms. He wanted her to tell him that she knew their love for each other was strong enough to change a vision that didn’t speak of happiness and commitment and love forever more.
But she did none of those things and he walked out of the back door without being stopped. He was leaving Cherokee Corners with a stab injury in his back and a deep laceration in his arm, but neither could compare with the utter shattering of his heart.
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