False Front (Lucinda Pierce)

by Diane Fanning

  ‘What does it look like?’ Lucinda asked.

  ‘I’d guess that the knife deflected off his iliac crest – the top of his hip bone – and didn’t go any deeper. Doesn’t appear to have hit any internal organs but we’ll have to get him to the hospital to check it out.’ The paramedic cleaned the cut and called for a stretcher.

  ‘Wait,’ Lucinda said. ‘I need to talk to him.’

  ‘Ma’am, I need to get him to the hospital – and you, too, for that matter.’

  ‘It can wait. Eagleton, stop moaning and look at me.’

  Eagleton whimpered and said, ‘Oh, please, let me die in peace.’

  ‘Don’t be such a wuss, Eagleton. Look at me, dammit!’

  Eagleton slowly turned his head to the side.

  ‘Why the hell did you pull this stunt?’

  ‘Because I’m being framed, Lieutenant. And now I’m going to die.’

  ‘Shut up with the dying crap. You’re going to be fine. What do you mean you’re being framed?’

  ‘I went to that woman just to warn her. I knew Candace was up to no good. I knew she planned to blackmail her.’

  ‘What woman?’

  ‘Tess Middleton. I told her that Candace was doing it only because I contributed to Middleton’s senatorial campaign. I never thought she’d kill my wife. Now she’s trying to pin it on me.’

  Lucinda rolled her eyes. ‘Right. What about the other guy?’

  ‘What other guy?’ Frank asked.

  ‘Oh jeez, you know what other guy. The one you let into the house. The one you helped murder your wife, you lying son of a bitch.’

  ‘Lieutenant,’ Robin interrupted. ‘If you are going to continue in this vein, we need to read Mr Eagleton his rights.’

  ‘Screw that,’ Lucinda snapped.

  ‘Lieutenant, you’re injured and you’re in pain. But you know I’m right.’

  ‘Of course you are. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.’

  Robin suppressed a laugh. ‘No, Lieutenant, you don’t have to like it one little bit.’

  The stretcher arrived and two emergency techs loaded Frank onto it and rolled him outside. The paramedic knelt beside Lucinda and said, ‘Your turn, Lieutenant.’

  ‘I’m fine. I’ll drive down to the emergency room when I finish here.’

  ‘Don’t mind me, Lieutenant. I’m used to dealing with hysterical victims at both crime and accident scenes. I know how to ignore them very well,’ he said as he cut up the side of the skirt of her navy suit with a pair of scissors.

  ‘I am not hysterical.’

  ‘Patients after trauma are often hysterical, in denial or in shock. Whatever it is, I just ignore them and continue with what needs to be done.’

  ‘Whatever, but I have a job to do.’

  ‘I’m sure you do, Lieutenant, but so do I. You’ve got a nasty little puncture wound here but it’s not too deep at all. We’ll need to have a doctor double-check it, maybe put in a couple of stitches and get you a tetanus shot. But then you’ll be good to go.’

  ‘I don’t need to go in an ambulance.’

  ‘You want me to lose my job?’

  ‘Let’s not be ridiculous,’ Lucinda said.

  ‘I could say the same to you, Lieutenant. Let us take proper care of you and then you can go on your way. If you resist, I’ll have to call your captain.’

  Lucinda exhaled. ‘Fine.’ She kept her mouth shut as she was loaded onto a stretcher and rolled to an ambulance. She hated not standing on her own two feet but she certainly didn’t want to drag her captain into it.

  Twenty minutes later, she lay in a bed in a bay of the treatment area of the emergency room with curtains drawn around her. She heard the metal hangers rattle on the ceiling track as the curtain pulled back to reveal Jake.

  ‘Lucinda,’ he said, grabbing her hand and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

  ‘I won’t break, Jake.’

  He lowered his mouth to hers, sucking her lower lip in between his teeth. Pulling back, he said, ‘Oh, that was nice.’

  ‘Get me out of here and you can have more of them.’

  A white jacketed arm poked in through the curtain and shoved it back on its rails. ‘Good evening, Lieutenant,’ a young doctor said as he looked down at the metal clipboard in his hand. ‘Looks like you’ve had a bad day.’ Turning to Jake, he said, ‘You’re going to have to leave for a bit while I examine my patient.’

  ‘A word, Doctor?’ Jake asked.

  The doctor nodded and stepped outside the curtains.

  ‘She’s going to be fine?’

  ‘It appears that way – unless I find something unexpected.’

  ‘Then she can travel?’

  ‘Not right now but I don’t anticipate any problems an hour from now.’

  Jake faked a punch to the doctor’s upper arm. ‘Thanks, Doc.’

  EPILOGUE

  Jake returned to the hospital and entered Lucinda’s examination area sporting a huge grin. A nurse followed him pushing a wheelchair.

  ‘What are you smiling about, Jake?’ Lucinda asked.

  ‘It’s time to go.’

  Lucinda made a dismissive gesture in the direction of the wheelchair. ‘That is not necessary,’ she said.

  ‘But it is hospital policy,’ the nurse said.

  ‘Oh, please . . .’

  ‘C’mon, Lucinda, I know you don’t like rules and you prefer not to follow established procedures. But we’ll get you out of here more quickly if you don’t argue with this poor, beleaguered nurse who’s just trying to do her job.’

  The nurse laughed.

  Lucinda rolled her eyes and slid into the chair. As she rolled down the hall, she asked, ‘And just why do we need to get out of here quickly?’

  ‘What?’ Jake said. ‘You like hospitals?’

  ‘You know that’s not true.’

  ‘Just the same, when are you coming back for more facial reconstruction surgery?’

  Lucinda sighed. ‘Dr Burns came to visit me this morning. He denied it but I’m sure you or Charley put him up to it.’

  ‘You think I would admit to that if I had? If I say I did, you’ll be angry with me. If I say I didn’t, I’d be implicating Charley – and you’d never forgive me for that. I lose either way. No comment – although thoroughly unsatisfactory – is my only option.’

  Lucinda gave him a baleful look. ‘You did, didn’t you?’

  Jake shrugged.

  ‘Anyway. Dr Burns called his appointments secretary and set it all up this morning.’

  ‘What’s he going to do?’

  ‘He said he would eliminate the puckering caused over here by scar tissue,’ she said, touching the damaged side of the face. ‘Then he badgered me about coming back before the end of the year to smooth out the skin on my upper cheek.’

  ‘Did you set that up, too?’

  ‘Are you kidding me, Jake?’

  Jake snickered. ‘When did you schedule the next procedure?’

  ‘Next month.’

  ‘Perfect timing,’ Jake said.

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘Everything is taken care of. You are now on a two-week vacation. We’ll swing by your place and pack up what you need. Then we’ll stay at my place – it’s closer to the airport. Our flight leaves at seven fifteen in the morning.’

  ‘What flight? What vacation?’

  ‘You and I are going to Negril Beach.’

  ‘Jamaica?’

  ‘Yep. Seven miles of unspoiled white sand beach. Lounge chairs by the water tucked under thatched umbrellas. Hammocks swinging beneath the palms. Fruity rum drinks with umbrellas and hunks of pineapple. Long walks by the lapping water in so many incredible shades of blue it’s enough to make you cry. Dining under the stars. Snorkeling among the fish. And pure unadulterated relaxation.’

  ‘I can’t just do that.’

  ‘I know you find it difficult to relax. But a couple of days in Negril will suck the type A even out of you.’

&n
bsp; ‘I didn’t mean I couldn’t relax. I mean, I just can’t up and run away from home. I have a job, responsibilities . . .’

  ‘Oh, yes, you can. Your captain approved your leave. I’ve lined up a babysitter for beloved cat and confidante Chester. And Charley made me promise to take pictures. All you need to do is tell Chester goodbye.’

  ‘But there’s still one loose end in the case,’ Lucinda objected.

  ‘A loose end? Middleton was the brains. She hired Trappatino. She used Eagleton since he fit in with her plans. All three are under arrest. Rowland and Candace are dead. Bonnie is found. Sounds wrapped up to me.’

  ‘Who is “unknown?”’

  ‘Unknown?’

  ‘You know. It was written on that note you found in Rowland’s apartment.’

  Jake shrugged. ‘Who knows? Rowland was just wondering about the possibility there was someone else, I’d say. There’s no indication that there was.’

  ‘But what if there is someone else involved?’ Lucinda asked.

  ‘See – that’s exactly why you need to get away from here and relax.’

  ‘Why are you doing this?’

  ‘Because you deserve it. Because I want to spend time with you. Because the beach is incredible. Because it will give us some time without other distractions to talk about our future.’

  ‘I’ve never said we had a future, Jake. And besides, I still have at least two more surgeries.’

  ‘And that is what we will talk about. No pressure. Just a clear understanding of each other and our expectations.’

  ‘What else are you plotting, Jake?’

  ‘I’ll admit. I thought of arranging to get married on the beach . . .’

  ‘I knew it.’

  ‘But I thought better of it,’ Jake added. ‘It is just my little fantasy. I do not expect it to happen on this trip.’

  The nurse stopped the wheelchair beside Jake’s waiting car. He put a hand on each of the arms and leaned towards her. ‘I need to know what goes on in that complicated head of yours.’

  ‘And you think I know?’ Lucinda said with a laugh.

  The next afternoon, Lucinda and Jake arrived in the airport at Montego Bay and Jake led her to the Tim Air counter.

  Lucinda whispered, ‘Tim Air? What kind of name is that for an airline?’

  ‘When an airline transports you to paradise, does it matter what it’s called? You’re going to love it. Trust me.’

  ‘Dangerous words, Special Agent Lovett. You better hope you can deliver.’

  And he did. The small plane followed the emerald-green coast high above the multiple hues of turquoise and deep blue. The beauty below her was a jolting shift from everyday reality. It almost seemed too much to absorb. The aerial view filled Lucinda’s chest with intense emotion. A thin white strand wrapped the coastline as they neared Negril, separating the vibrancy of the sea from the lushness of the tropical growth and pastel-colored resorts. She squeezed Jake’s hand.

  There was no place she’d rather be than on a green island surrounded by water. And she had to admit, she could not think of anyone she’d rather have by her side than Jake. She could hardly wait to land. She wanted to smell the salty air, wriggle her toes in the sand like an unabashed tourist, listen to the lapping water and the cries of the seabirds.

  The plane turned inland and began its descent. Lucinda gasped. Below were tall grasses, boggy patches of muck and one thin dirt strip of dry ground running down the middle. A safe landing appeared impossible. She tightened her grip on Jake’s hand and didn’t let go until the wheels hit the ground and the plane slowed to a crawl. She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until she released a huge exhalation of relief.

  Jake smiled at her with total satisfaction. He’d taken a risk whisking her away like he had. But he was so afraid that if the current state of limbo continued he was going to lose her. He was determined to whittle away at her protective shell, prove his trustworthiness and find out what really lay deep within her heart.