Revenge

by Debra Webb

  ‘He is.’ He was now officially on Jess’s bad side. ‘Don’t worry about the top. They don’t call it a lonely place for nothing.’ Jess had been there and she had nothing to show for it. Well, except for an obsessed serial killer.

  ‘Dr Baron was not a happy camper when she arrived on the scene.’

  ‘I was too busy to notice,’ Jess fibbed.

  Sylvia was not pleased at all about the call. Jess had evaded her at all costs. Hadn’t been difficult since the SWAT commander and the negotiator were standing in line to chew her out.

  Sitting here wasn’t going to get her up those stairs. ‘Thanks for the ride.’ Jess reached for the door handle.

  ‘See you on Monday.’

  ‘Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.’ Jess laughed as she climbed out of the car. What she should have said was if Spears doesn’t show up to play.

  He was close. Gant’s call about the security breach in Chicago was all the confirmation she’d needed.

  As if the same thought had occurred to Lori, she parked the Mustang and climbed out. ‘I should walk you to your door. Make sure everything’s as it should be.’

  Burnett had trained her detectives well.

  Jess dragged herself up the stairs, Lori on her heels, and unlocked her door. She disarmed the security system and waited while Lori had a look around.

  ‘All right. I’m out of here.’ She grimaced. ‘Wish me luck. We’re taking Chester to the zoo this afternoon.’

  ‘Remember,’ Jess said as she walked her to the door, ‘patience and persistence.’

  ‘I’ll try.’

  Jess waved her off and locked up. When the alarm was reset, she went in search of a glass of wine.

  Half an hour later she was perched on her glider, her Glock tucked next to her and a bottle of wine right next to that. Who wanted to move for refills? Maybe she’d just sit here and watch the sun rise.

  She had every right to celebrate. The case was closed.

  She smiled when Dan pulled into the driveway. She’d known he would come as soon as the PR stuff was done. This had been a high-profile case and people wanted answers. She’d stayed out of the limelight on this one.

  He ascended the top step and smiled at her.

  He was so damned handsome. And charming. And kind.

  Yes, his friends were still the rich and powerful. His family still lived in the mansion on the hill. He was an organizer, a mover and a shaker of whole communities . . . a man who could change the course of a city’s history with one decision. Jess was a worker bee. She recognized her place and was perfectly content finding the bad guys and ensuring they couldn’t harm anyone else.

  Corlew was right; she didn’t really fit in Dan’s world. She probably never would.

  But somehow she fit with him.

  ‘What’re you smiling about?’ Jess inquired. Inside she was doing the same.

  ‘Is that other glass for me?’

  She’d brought out a second glass just in case she didn’t finish off the bottle before he got here. ‘It is. Join me.’

  He sat down next to her and held his glass as she filled it. He noticed the Glock. ‘Good girl.’

  ‘I told you I wasn’t taking any more unnecessary chances.’

  ‘You mean like you did on that roof?’

  She should have known he’d nail her on that one. ‘That one was necessary.’

  ‘You almost gave the SWAT commander a heart attack. Rob Barlow is pissed.’

  Barlow was the hostage negotiator. He’d given Jess hell at the scene.

  ‘They should get used to it.’ She had her own way of doing things.

  ‘I warned them about that already.’

  ‘Did you talk to Corlew?’ He’d proven just how underhanded he could be with that interview . . . even if he had been right about the Five.

  ‘No need. If I give him enough rope, he’ll hang himself. He’s done it before.’

  That was Dan. Always taking the high road.

  ‘Whatever racket Corlew makes,’ he assured her, ‘the facts speak for themselves. Black did everything he could twelve years ago. He had his suspicions about the Five back then but with no evidence and all the political pressure on the DA, there was no way to convince him to prosecute.’ Dan shook his head. ‘You can’t win a case without evidence. No DA is going to trial without it. Black’s hands were tied and the case was closed.’

  ‘I know you, Daniel Burnett, and no matter how much pressure the mayor or anyone else exerted, you would never cave unless you believed it was the right thing to do.’

  He reached up, traced her cheek with his finger. ‘Thank you. That means a great deal to me.’

  They drank their wine and rocked back and forth on the glider for a while. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and removed an envelope. He passed it to her.

  ‘What’s this?’

  ‘The medical history from your aunt.’

  Her jaw fell slack. ‘You went by her house?’

  ‘You’ve been pressed for time all week. This morning I had a meeting at the mayor’s office. Afterward I swung by before going back to the office. It took twenty minutes. Now it’s done.’

  Jess smiled. ‘Thank you.’ The truth was, her aunt was a part of the past she didn’t want to revisit, and she’d used work to avoid doing so. Just another aspect of her problem with uber-independence. It was far easier to be strong and independent if you never looked back. Easier to pretend you didn’t have a problem if you didn’t recognize past mistakes.

  The man sitting next to her was a very good reason to try harder to work through those issues.

  ‘You’re welcome. Now drink your wine. I’m planning on seducing you.’

  ‘You’re behind the curve, Burnett. I already started seducing you.’ She lifted her glass. ‘Cheers.’

  She kicked aside the worry about Spears that tried to invade.

  It was Saturday. The case was solved and she and Dan were off duty.

  No more thoughts about bad guys and cases.

  Dan carried her inside and left her on the bed just long enough to lock out the world.

  They made love until the sun came up.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Parkridge Drive, 6.00 P.M.

  Lori picked at her French fries. Chet wished she would stop worrying so much about how Chester acted around her. He was a child, still a baby for the most part. He would learn to love her. Maybe not as much as Chet did, but enough.

  ‘I’m beginning to think you’re not a big fan of Mickey D’s,’ he teased.

  She set her plate aside on the end table and curled her legs under her. If their relationship ever ended, God forbid, he would never be able to keep that sofa. She looked so beautiful, so perfect on it. This whole place would never be the same without her.

  ‘Chester loves McDonald’s.’ She glanced longingly at Chet’s son, who was eating his French fries right off the coffee table, his attention on Toy Story 3. ‘I want him to be happy.’

  Lori didn’t know it but she was thinking like a mother already. ‘Well, I have something that might make you happy.’

  She perked up, the corners of her lips lifting into a smile. ‘A surprise?’

  Chet nodded. Seeing her smile made his heart beat a little faster. ‘Chester, go get Lori’s present.’

  Chester looked at his daddy and grinned. ‘’kay.’

  The boy galloped off to his room.

  Lori laughed. ‘What’re you boys up to?’

  Chester ran back into the room squealing at the top of his lungs. He climbed onto the sofa next to Lori and stuck the white box with the pink ribbon in her face.

  ‘Sorry about the ketchup.’ Chet grimaced. His son had gotten ketchup all over the white wrapping paper.

  ‘It would probably taste about as good as those fries.’ She giggled. ‘Thank you, Chester.’

  ‘Open!’ he ordered, pointing a ketchup-stained finger at the present.

  Pride swelled his chest so tight, Chet could ha
rdly breathe. Picking out the secret gift for Lori and letting Chester be a part of surprising her was working. The boy was leaning against Lori, his eyes big with excitement as she opened the gift.

  Chet prayed this would help break the ice between them.

  ‘Wow!’ Lori lifted the pearls from the case. ‘They’re beautiful.’

  Chester reached up and touched the necklace. ‘Loowi’s su’pwise.’

  ‘Thank you, Chester. I love it.’

  He smiled at her and Chet saw the tears glittering in her green eyes.

  He couldn’t help himself. Chet got down on his knees in front of her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘I love you, baby.’

  She hugged him and he felt the dampness of her cheek against his face. Tears welled in his own eyes.

  ‘Me too! Me too!’ Chester squealed. He dove into the hug.

  They laughed and hugged like one big family.

  For the first time, Chester let Lori get him ready for bed. Chet watched from the door as she tucked him in.

  She kissed his forehead. ‘Night, Chester.’

  He yawned. ‘Night, Lo’wee.’

  She joined Chet at the door, her face beaming. ‘Your turn, Dad.’ She tiptoed and leaned close enough to whisper in his ear, ‘Then I’m tucking you in.’ She left a kiss on his jaw and disappeared toward their room.

  Chet ensured his boy said his prayers, gave him a goodnight kiss, turned out his light – leaving the room aglow with the Spider-Man night-light – and softly closed the door. Anticipation making him hurry, he headed down the hall.

  In their room, candles flickered from every flat surface. The covers were turned back but there was no Lori on the bed.

  He closed the door as quietly as possible and locked it. ‘Hey!’ he called out in a loud whisper. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘In here,’ she whispered back.

  He started toward the bathroom door, felt something under his bare feet. She’d left a trail of rose petals on the floor. He followed the path and stalled at the door to take in the view.

  More candles and a bottle of wine waited on the counter. Two stemmed glasses. And there was Lori, neck-deep in bubbles, in the garden tub. He’d figured that thing would come in handy when he’d added the shower to this bathroom and opted to leave the big-ass tub.

  ‘Climb in here while the water’s still warm.’

  When he’d stripped off his clothes and slid into the water, he wasn’t surprised that she was naked but he was surprised that she was wearing her pearls.

  ‘You like?’ She pressed her hand to her throat, showing off the necklace.

  He pulled her against him, aligning her body atop his. ‘I love it all.’

  She kissed him until he gasped for breath. ‘Thank you,’ she murmured.

  Then they stopped talking . . . stopped thinking . . . and focused on feeling.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The Falcon Center,

  Sunday, August 15, 10.00 A.M.

  Sylvia met him in the solarium-style lobby.

  Dan took a long look around. Marble floors and soaring ceiling, and beyond the glass walls the lush gardens stretched for acres around the private clinic located just outside Birmingham. ‘Impressive.’

  ‘If you saw the check they get every month, then you’d really be impressed.’ She looked around the elegant lobby. ‘Too bad they couldn’t help her.’

  This was a part of his past he’d tucked neatly away. He didn’t want to remember. But today, he needed to do this for the family. And maybe for himself. Mostly, though, he was here for Nina. ‘She’ll do better in New York.’

  ‘Maybe. I appreciate very much that you came, Dan.’ Sylvia shrugged. ‘It will mean a lot to Father as well.’

  ‘I don’t know that seeing me will help.’ The screaming and the cold, hard muzzle of the nine-millimeter flashed in broken pieces through his brain. The tie he wore suddenly felt too tight. ‘But I’m happy to do what I can.’

  It was the least he could do.

  ‘She loved you, Dan. As much as she was capable of loving anyone.’ Sylvia wrapped her arm around his. ‘You made her happy. I think those months with you was the only time in her adult life that she was really happy on a personal level.’

  As she led the way, to her sister’s room he assumed, he couldn’t help asking the question that had burned in the back of his brain all these years. ‘You all knew she was . . . ill. Yet you never said a word. You let the whole thing play out. Why didn’t anyone warn me?’

  Nina’s illness was the family’s deep dark secret. At the time she and Dan were married, Nina would go months without any symptoms of the schizophrenia. Then she’d go over the edge. The last time she’d almost taken Dan with her. The entire Baron family insisted there had never been an episode like that before. Somehow, Nina hadn’t been able to find her way back from that one. It was as if she’d locked herself away deep inside her head and refused to come out.

  If he’d known, maybe he could have done things differently. Made sure he was home on time. Focused a little more on her needs.

  But he hadn’t gotten a clue from anyone, including Nina.

  That crushing sensation settled on his chest. He’d failed her. There was no one else to blame.

  ‘We thought somehow her love for you would be enough. That you were her savior.’

  But he hadn’t saved her. He had come home that evening and climbed into the shower. When he’d come back into the bedroom, Nina had the weapon they kept in the closet for protection in her hand. She had screamed and ranted at him while he tried everything he knew to coax her into putting down the weapon. Finally, she turned it on herself but she hadn’t released the safety, buying him just enough time to take the weapon from her.

  Sylvia paused outside an unmarked room. No numbers or names. This was an exclusive facility. Each patient was given as close to total anonymity as possible. She searched his eyes for a long moment. ‘Dan, whether you realize it or not, this is more for you than for Nina.’

  He wanted to argue with her reasoning but he couldn’t find the words.

  ‘One day you’ll look back on this moment and be grateful for the closure. She loved you. She never meant to hurt you. None of us did. But more importantly, you didn’t do anything wrong. You need to forgive yourself and move on with your life.’

  How could he forgive himself?

  Sylvia rapped softly on the door, then opened it. Nina sat in a chair near the windows on the far side of the room. Her brown hair was shorter now. She was thinner, paler. But she was as beautiful as ever. His chest tightened with emotion. No matter that he had thought he was prepared for this; he wasn’t. Seeing her this way just reminded him of how badly he had failed her.

  ‘I brought someone to see you, Nina.’

  Nina didn’t acknowledge her sister or Dan. No indication that she even realized they had entered the room showed on her face or in her posture.

  He moved around in front of her and crouched down to her eye level. ‘How are you, Nina?’

  As if she’d abruptly realized someone said her name, she looked at him without the slightest recognition. ‘It’s not time for my medication.’

  Sylvia pulled up another chair and sat facing her. ‘You remember Dan. You’ve told me stories about when he would take you to dinner and a movie. You love movies, Nina.’

  She turned to Sylvia. ‘Is it time for lunch yet? I don’t want the peas.’

  Dan followed Sylvia’s lead and tried making conversation. If Nina understood anything they said or even who they were, she showed no indication.

  She was gone. Just like that evening when she’d held his gun in both hands and tried to shoot, the woman he had fallen for and married was gone.

  When the attendant came to take Nina for her walk, Dan said goodbye. Profound sadness shrouded him for all that she had lost. He hoped the miracle she needed would be found at the next clinic.

  He turned to Sylvia and she seemed to visibly gather her uncharacteristic
ally scattered composure. ‘Well, thank you again.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I’m glad you and Jess are coming to the barbecue. I didn’t want to leave her out. She’s actually growing on me.’

  Dan managed a strained laugh. ‘Jess will do that.’

  Sylvia squared her shoulders. ‘Be sure to mention to her that next time she has a jumper to call someone else. I don’t do jumpers.’

  Dan walked Sylvia to her car, then climbed into his own. As he drove away, he realized Sylvia had been right. He had needed to see Nina again.

  He might never be able to forgive himself for not being what she needed but he could acknowledge the fact that he had tried.

  That was enough for now.

  That and the knowledge that Jess was waiting for him.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  St Francis Church, 3.00 P.M.

  Jess had watched in morbid fascination as Dan’s cousin’s firstborn was christened. The child hadn’t screamed as much as she’d expected and she was really a beautiful baby. The christening gown was Irish and handmade. According to one of the ladies she’d overheard, it had been in the mother’s family for several generations.

  Afternoon refreshments were being served in the gardens, and thankfully it wasn’t hot enough to melt what little makeup she was wearing off her face. Jess munched a cookie, homemade no doubt, and wandered through the gardens. The service had been lovely. Dan had looked so handsome and so excited to be named the baby’s godfather.

  Mostly Jess was in shock over how she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off the baby. It was like she needed to see every wiggle and stretch.

  She was just freaking out. That was all it could be. By her calendar she should be on her period by now. Could she be pregnant? Not likely. She was probably worrying for nothing. Worst-case scenario, if there was no period by Tuesday she would take one of those high-tech tests that were supposed to give immediate results. She’d figure the rest out from there.

  Her heart bumped into a funny rhythm at the thought.

  Just stop, Jess.

  She scanned the garden for the beverage table. Where was that lemonade she’d heard everyone making a fuss over?