Burn

by HELEN HARDT

  Jonah stood, his eyes dark and serious, his nostrils flaring. “Let’s cut to the chase here. Dr. Carmichael was held captive last week on a property owned by Fleming Corporation.”

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry for any hardship you’ve endured, but I don’t know anything about that.”

  “That’s because I was able to keep it off the news,” Jonah said. “For Dr. Carmichael’s privacy. She’s a renowned psychotherapist here in Grand Junction.”

  “Look,” I said. “We’re just trying to figure out who did this to me. You’re our only lead.”

  Mr. Jolly stood and came from behind his desk. “Then I’m afraid your only lead is a dead end. I’m going to have to ask you to leave now.”

  Jonah tensed, and for a moment, I feared he was going to do something he might regret. But he stood and smiled. “Thank you very much for your time. We will be in touch.”

  We walked quickly out of his office, down the hallway, through the reception area, and out the door. Jonah said nothing during the elevator ride, and I waited until we were clear of the building before I spoke.

  “He’s hiding something,” I said. “I have to be good at reading people in my business, and I usually know a liar when I see one.”

  “Agreed,” Jonah said. “If the corporation isn’t a client, he’s not bound by any ethical obligation not to disclose the information we want. The fact that he won’t means he’s either part of the corporation or he’s being well paid to keep quiet.”

  “I guess it’s on to see Dr. Cates,” I said.

  “We’re not done with this Jolly fellow yet. We just have to figure out how to approach the situation. If he’s being paid to keep quiet, I can pay him to talk.”

  I swallowed. “Jonah, I don’t want you to spend all your money trying to figure this out.”

  “Melanie, my love, I couldn’t spend all my money in three lifetimes. You don’t need to worry about that.”

  I shook my head and smiled. “You are some kind of wonderful, you know that?”

  “I’m far from wonderful,” he said. “But trust me when I say I would do absolutely anything for you.” He threaded his fingers through mine as we walked to his car.

  Chapter Thirty–One

  Jonah

  Melanie wanted to go to the hospital and check on Mrs. Cates, so we headed there first. We were in and out quickly, Melanie getting an update from the nurse on duty. Dr. Cates wasn’t there, so we drove to the address of the townhome he had rented in the city.

  On the way, something occurred to me. “You don’t suppose they would’ve brought Gina’s old Eldorado out here to Grand Junction from their home in Denver, do you?”

  “Good point. I wouldn’t think so. So that means—”

  “How did they know it was stolen?” I finished. “The police said Dr. Cates had reported it stolen a few days prior to your escape, right?”

  “As I understand it, yes.”

  I pulled up into the parking lot in front of the townhome. Melanie sat still, staring straight ahead.

  “Are you okay?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “Just a little…nervous, I guess. I’m about to face the man who probably was my attacker.”

  “Something to keep in mind, Melanie.”

  “What?”

  “If your theory is correct, and Gina didn’t kill herself, it’s just as likely that whoever did kill her also attacked you. And that most likely was not Dr. Cates.”

  “Or perhaps her parents murdered her. Who knows? From what she told me, they were very distant parents. Not affectionate at all. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re killers.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” I agreed.

  “Besides,” Melanie said, “the guy who took me basically told me he was a hired assassin. I believe the words he used were ‘I wouldn’t stay in business for long if I weaseled out of a job for more money. No one would trust me.’”

  “So that could mean one of two things,” I said. “Either he was a hired killer, or he was lying to you. And I’m thinking that when someone kills for a living or for sport, he’s already thrown caution to the wind and would have no problem lying.”

  That got a small smile out of her. “You’re right.”

  I gripped her shoulders, turning her toward me. “You don’t have to be afraid. I will be with you, and I will not let him harm you. I will never, ever let anyone harm you again. Do you hear me?”

  She nodded, biting her lip.

  “All right. Are you ready?”

  She nodded again. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  We got out of the car, and Melanie held on to my arm as we walked to the door of his townhome. He was on the end of a triplex, which was good. A neighbor on only one side.

  I knocked on the door loudly.

  We heard some shuffling behind the door, but no one opened it.

  I tried the doorbell next, pressing it twice.

  Still no response.

  No screen door separated me from the wooden door, so I pounded with all my might on the wooden door.

  He was there. I could feel it in my bones.

  Melanie shivered beside me. Damn it, we had come all this way. He was going to talk to us.

  “Hey!” I shouted. “Open this goddamned door, or I swear to God I’ll kick it in!”

  No response again.

  “I fucking warned you!”

  Melanie tugged on my arm. “Jonah…”

  “Don’t worry,” I said to her. Then, “I meant it. I’m going to kick down this fucking door!”

  I stepped back, focused, let out a scream, and aimed a sidekick at the door. It didn’t budge.

  I closed my eyes, breathing deep, visualized myself kicking that door off its hinges, and then let out another cry and side-kicked the door once again.

  The wood cracked.

  As I readied to kick once more, the door flew open. A man, who I assumed was Dr. Cates, stood there, a look of fear and indignation across his face.

  “Are you insane?” he said to me.

  “Just a hair short of it.” I pushed him out of the way and walked into the townhome, Melanie holding on to my arm again. “I’m Jonah Steel. And you know Dr. Carmichael.”

  “What the hell are you doing here? I was perfectly within my rights to file a complaint with the medical board against you.”

  Melanie opened her mouth, but I gestured for her to be quiet.

  “As much as I’d love to interrogate you about that, that’s not why we’re here.”

  “Then why are you here? I’ve already told the police I had nothing to do with your kidnapping, Dr. Carmichael.”

  “I don’t believe that either,” I said, “but that’s still not why we’re here.”

  “Then what the hell do you want? And you’re going to pay for that door, by the way.”

  “Yeah, I’ll pay for it. And don’t even think about calling the cops on me. I’ll make your life hell.”

  He opened his mouth, but I raised my fist at him.

  “I’m doing the talking now. I’ll let you know when it’s your turn. We need some information. Information that Dr. Carmichael was never able to get from your daughter while she was alive.”

  “I don’t see what—”

  “You don’t listen very well. I told you I would let you know when to talk. Now shut the fuck up. I want to know the name of your brother-in-law. The one who assaulted and raped your daughter. You remember? The reason she needed therapy?”

  “Doesn’t matter. He’s dead.”

  “How did he die?”

  “Uh…cancer.”

  “What kind of cancer?”

  “Lung cancer.”

  “Was he a smoker?” I asked Melanie. “Did Gina ever say her uncle smoked?”

  Melanie shook her head, biting her lip.

  “Seems like something Gina might have mentioned.”

  Cates fidgeted nervously. “You don’t have to smoke to get lung cancer.”

  “True. But most lung cancer cases re
sult from smoking. If your brother-in-law didn’t smoke, it’s unlikely he had lung cancer. I think you’re lying, Dr. Cates. And you know something else? I don’t think he’s dead.”

  His face turned red. “He’s dead.”

  “Let me see the death certificate.”

  “I don’t have it.”

  “Then give me his name. I’ll go to the records office and get one myself.”

  His face turned ruddier. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

  I lunged at him, grabbing him by the collar and pushing him up against the wall. “That’s where you’re wrong. We’re not leaving until we get the information we came for.”

  “I’ll call the cops on you.”

  “Go right ahead. I’m sure they’ll be interested in the information I want from you too.”

  Melanie stepped forward. “Dr. Cates, please. Gina would never give me this information. I don’t know why, but I have my hunches.”

  “Your hunches aren’t worth anything,” he said. “You let my daughter die.”

  “What if I didn’t?” she asked. “What if your daughter was murdered?”

  Cates’s face reddened. “That’s not true. She committed suicide. We found her dead in the garage in that damned Eldorado.”

  “But what if someone put her there? Like someone tried to do to me?”

  He said nothing.

  “Look,” I said. “I want the name of your brother-in-law. I want his date and cause of death. And I’m not leaving here without those pieces of information.”

  “While you’re at it,” Melanie said, “we also need the name and phone number of Gina’s friend. The one who told you she was in love.”

  “I don’t have to give you anything.”

  I pushed him harder into the wall, grasping his collar in my fists. “Listen,” I said through clenched teeth, “you see what I did to your door. What do you think I could do to you? I could grind you into a fine powder. Then you would call the cops on me, and they would take me away in handcuffs.” I laughed. “You know something? I don’t fucking care. My attorneys would have me out on bail in twenty-four hours. They would get me off on some technicality and expose every dirty little secret you’re hiding to discredit you. That’s the kind of money I have. So give us the information we want, or I will beat you into a finely mashed pulp and to hell with the consequences.”

  He closed his eyes. Two tears squeezed out of the corners. “All right, all right. Just don’t hurt me.”

  I loosened my grip. “Your brother-in-law—is he dead?”

  Cates shook his head. “No, he’s not.”

  “That’s what we thought. Did you tell Gina he was dead? Or did you tell her to tell everyone else he was dead?”

  “We told her he was dead. We never told her how or why. She asked a few times, and we changed the subject.”

  “You know, there are some people in the world who should never have children, Cates. I put you in that category.”

  “Jonah…” Melanie touched my arm.

  “For God’s sake, Melanie. I’m right, and you know it.”

  She sighed. “Yes, I do believe you’re right.”

  “How dare the two of you judge me?” He looked to Melanie.

  I tightened my grip on his collar again. “First, you don’t talk to her. Ever. Don’t even look at her. You don’t deserve to. Second. What the fuck is the name of your brother-in-law?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? You don’t know his name?”

  “I only know his birth name. He goes by a lot of other names. I don’t know what he’s going by now.”

  I let Cates go, and he fell to the floor.

  “He uses aliases?” I said.

  Cates nodded. “He’s got…issues.”

  “You think? Really? A man who rapes his niece has issues?” I shook my head. “You disgust me. A guy who cuts in line has issues. Your brother-in-law is a goddamned psychopath. Now, what’s his fucking birth name?”

  “Theodore. Theodore Mathias.”

  “Any middle name?”

  “I…don’t know.”

  “And you know some of his aliases?”

  “There are several, and I’m sure I don’t know them all. John Smith. Nicholas Castle. Milo Sanchez. I can’t think of any more right now. I know I’m forgetting some of them.”

  My blood ran cold. “You get a piece of paper, and you write all those names down. Got it?”

  He stood, brushing off his scholarly tweed jacket. He walked into the kitchen, and I followed at his heels. He took a pad of paper and a pen out of a drawer and wrote.

  “Do you know his birth date?”

  “I don’t. Erica might know it. She’s his younger sister. Her full name is Erica Helene Mathias Cates.”

  “Jonah”—Melanie touched my arm—“I really don’t want to bother her. She’s in a fragile mental state at the moment.”

  I turned to her. What a wonderful woman. Even now, she was thinking of others, always helping people. After all she’d been through, she was still Melanie. A good soul.

  “You’re lucky that Dr. Carmichael is so forgiving,” I said. “I, however, am not.” I took the piece of paper he handed me and handed it right back to him. “You forgot the name and number of Gina’s friend. The one who said she was in love with someone.”

  “Oh.” He hurriedly wrote down another name and handed the paper back to me. “Marie Cooke, with an e.”

  I took my wallet out of my back pocket. I folded the paper and placed it in my wallet, and then threw a couple thousand dollars in Franklins on the floor. “That should cover the damage to the door, and then some.” I turned to Melanie. “We don’t have any more use for this guy. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Thirty–Two

  Melanie

  I wasn’t sure what to say to Jonah as we drove back to the ranch. He had arranged for us to have dinner with Jade and Talon at the main house. He wanted me to tell Talon what had happened to me. And he was right. It was time. None of it had been my fault, and I needed to talk about it. I knew as well as Jonah that sweeping something under the rug didn’t help at all.

  Brooke’s nurse had taken her into Grand Junction overnight for physical and occupational therapy, so she wouldn’t be around. Marjorie was there though, which I didn’t mind.

  Talon had given Felicia a few weeks off, with pay, to deal with the new developments. So Marjorie was the resident cook. She made a delicious dinner of shrimp scampi.

  Ryan was noticeably absent. I was fine with that because he and I hardly knew each other.

  “He’d like to be here,” Jade said, “but he’s got so much work at the vineyards.”

  “It’s okay.”

  After I told them my sob story, Talon went rigid.

  “Besides Jade and Marj here, you’re the most important woman in my life, Doc. I’d like to strangle anyone who tries to harm you.”

  “You have to get in line behind me, bro,” Jonah said.

  “I’m fine. My ankle is almost all the way healed. I only had to wear the boot for a few days. And my hands.” I held them up. “I suppose there will be some scarring, but otherwise, they still work. I guess it’s a good thing I went into psychotherapy and not surgery.”

  “This isn’t any time for joking, Doc,” Talon said.

  “Honestly, I’m fine. I…don’t even know how to explain it, but after this experience, I’m looking at things through a different lens. I’m kind of stepping out of the box, you know?”

  “Do you have any idea who could have done this to you?”

  “We have a few ideas.” This was the part I was truly dreading—telling them all about Gina. I had already told Talon during one of our sessions that I had lost a patient to suicide, and I’d also told him I had made my peace with it, which had been a bold-faced lie.

  But I was beginning to make my peace with it now. Before I did, though, I had to find out if she had actually committed suicide.

  I teared
up a bit as I told them the story of Gina…including the letter.

  “We saw her father today,” Jonah said. “He denies having anything to do with Melanie’s attack, of course, and apparently he has an ironclad alibi because the police questioned him and then let him go.”

  “Well, that doesn’t mean anything,” Talon said.

  “Right now, I just want to find out if Gina did indeed kill herself. So many things don’t add up. Like her being in love with me. I never got any kind of vibe like that. And I’m good at recognizing signs if a person was suicidal. She didn’t have any. You were in worse shape when you came to see me, Talon.” I clamped my hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry. Doctor-patient confidentiality.”

  Talon laughed. “Everyone here knows exactly the kind of shape I was in when I went to see you.”

  “Well, I’m still sorry. My point is, you were in worse shape than she was, and you weren’t suicidal.”

  “No, I was never suicidal. Many times I’d wished I were dead, but somehow, my will to live always surfaced at the right time.”

  Jade smiled. “All of us here are really glad it did.”

  I nodded, choking up. I had grown fond of Talon.

  “Anyway, she always told me that the uncle who abused her was dead, but she could never tell me how or when. So today, we went to talk to her father. It turns out the uncle is not only alive but has been known to use a lot of aliases.”

  “Why would anyone use aliases?” Marj asked.

  “Most likely because he was doing something he shouldn’t have been doing,” Jonah said. “His name was Theodore Mathias. He went by several aliases, and Cates couldn’t remember all of them.” Jonah pulled his wallet out, taking out the piece of paper Dr. Cates had given him. “John Smith. Nicholas Castle. Milo Sanchez.”

  Talon jolted. “What? Read those again.”

  “John Smith. Nicholas Castle. Milo Sanchez.”

  “Milo Sanchez. Where have I heard that name before?”

  I shrugged. “I’ve never heard it before.”

  Marjorie and Jade shook their heads as well.

  “Okay, now that’s bugging me.” Talon got up from the table and began to pace.