Small-Town Secrets
Page 26
“You will remain silent and in the background,” she said quietly.
“Fine, but if he tries to escape, I’m tripping him.”
“That I’ll let you do.”
Roy looked up when Bree walked into his office without waiting for an invitation. Cole remained in the doorway, while Jinx stood by Bree’s side.
“I heard you had some trouble last night,” he said. “Funny thing, we never had stuff like this happen until you came to town.” He grinned, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Now she knew just how good his lies were. “You sure you didn’t bring along any of your Los Angeles crime with you?” he joked.
“You did that all on your own. Roy Holloway, you are under arrest for multiple counts of murder. You have the right to remain silent….” Bree rambled on, reciting the Miranda. “Do you understand what I have just told you?” she concluded.
Roy sat back in his chair, looking too smug for his own good.
“You can be amused if you want, but you’re going to jail for a very long time. That’s if you escape the death penalty,” she said. “Do you have anything you wish to say?”
He shook his head. “Don’t try it on me, Fitzpatrick. I’ve been in law enforcement a hell of a lot longer than you. I’m going to let my attorney do the talking. He’ll have me out on bail in an hour and the case will be dismissed before you can finish the paperwork.”
“I don’t think so,” she said confidently. “Your mistake was you got too greedy, Holloway.” She stopped when she heard her cell phone ring. She took it out of her bag. “Fitzpatrick.” She listened for several minutes, then hung up. “Looks like there will be one defendant instead of two. Michael Warren just killed himself. Somehow he found out he was about to get arrested. He left a note saying he knew he couldn’t survive prison. He apologized to you. He was sorry that he wasn’t as strong as you are.” Her gaze bored into Holloway’s.
“It looks like you’ll be alone when you face a judge and jury.” She looked down at Jinx. “Jinx, detain.” The dog moved over to stand by Roy. There was no doubt the man wouldn’t get past the dog.
Roy’s face blanched. “No,” he whispered, falling back in his chair. “Mike wouldn’t kill himself.”
“He did,” she said bluntly. “He also wrote down the numbers of bank accounts and safety deposit boxes. I guess he figured if he was going to die, you weren’t going to be allowed the luxury of trying to get away with it. Now get up slowly and turn around.”
He placed his hands on the desktop and slowly stood up. The moment he rose to his feet, Jinx was next to him, watchful of every movement the man made.
The trio in the office were oblivious to the small crowd gathering outside the room, or the low rumble of voices in the background.
Roy left the office with his hands cuffed and his head held high.
“I did nothing wrong,” he announced in ringing tones.
“The district attorney might have a different opinion,” Bree said. She glanced at the other officers. She hoped there wouldn’t be any trouble there.
Everyone stepped back, allowing them to walk out without any interference.
Bree stuck Roy in the back of a patrol car and turned to Cole. “I’m going to be a while,” she warned him.
“That’s all right. I’ve got a story to write,” he said. “Just remember me when you’re finished.”
She smiled. “As if I could forget.”
“Then we can discuss how to make the two of us a habit,” he suggested silkily. “You know what I mean. Lay out terms and all.”
“If you only knew what you’re in for.”
“I do. And I’m in it for the long haul.”
Bree kissed him. “You know what? So am I.”
Epilogue
Five years later
“What’re you crying for now?” Cole teased Bree.
She sniffed and gestured toward the orchestra set off to one side, as the dark-gowned graduates filed to the front of the grassy area. “‘Pomp and Circumstance’ always makes me cry. It’s foretelling a new chapter in a person’s life.”
“Cole, make her stop,” Sara hissed. “I swear, Mom, if you do this at my college graduation I will pretend not to know you.” She bounced the toddler in her lap up and down as the little girl looked around with wide-eyed fascination.
“Message for Sara,” Cody intoned. “Hollywood is calling.”
She glared at her brother.
Cole looked at his family with the same amazement he felt every morning. That Bree had been his wife for almost four years was the first thing he was grateful for. That the three Fitzpatrick children accepted him so readily made him more so. And last, the little girl with her father’s stormy-gray eyes and fascination with everything life had to offer completed the circle. After his story about murdering the elderly for money in Warm Springs hit all the major papers, he had calls asking him to return to the work he’d once thrived on. He’d politely listened to each offer and then turned it down. He’d had more than enough excitement, thank you very much.
Roy Holloway sat on death row for first degree murder, with a count even higher than anyone expected, since Roy hadn’t minded traveling to other counties to utilize his talent for homicide. Appeals had been filed, but Cole knew it would only lengthen his stay, since the crimes were too heinous and the evidence much too strong.
His connection to Dr. Michael Warren had begun when they were in high school. Michael’s mother was terminally ill, and Roy Holloway had found a way to help Michael ease his mother into death. The secret had bound the two friends together for years, a secret that Roy later brought up as a way to make money.
Joshua was relieved to learn that Renee’s death was definitely not a suicide, and many of the senior citizens were relieved to know Roy Holloway wouldn’t come knocking on their door one night with an offer to help family members who didn’t want to live with terminal illness.
The district attorney’s office opted not to prosecute the surviving spouses for their parts in the deaths. It was decided their awareness of what they’d done was punishment enough. It was doubted even time would be able to heal the emotional wounds Roy Holloway’s actions left behind.
Bree had been offered Roy’s position, and after discussion with Cole and the kids, she’d taken it.
There were days when Cole worried about her and her work. After all, how many sheriffs leave a bad traffic accident scene to travel to the hospital to give birth?
And now his oldest stepson was being courted by every government agency known to man, and a few that remained in the background.
He pulled out his handkerchief and dabbed at Bree’s eyes. “Cops don’t cry,” he murmured.
Her smile tipped his world upside down just as it had that first time he saw her. “This one does.”
“Then I’ll make you a deal. I won’t tell your deputies about the waterworks and you fix my parking tickets.”
Bree leaned over, brushing her lips across his ear. “Do us both a favor, Becker. Pay the two dollars.” She repeated the time-honored joke, referring to a time when parking tickets had only cost that small amount.
She turned back to watch the graduates file across the stage to receive their diplomas. And thought about the day she’d be sitting here to watch little Jenny accept hers.
She glanced at Cole, who, sensing her regard, turned and looked at her with love shining in his eyes.
Her world was complete.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0388-4
SMALL-TOWN SECRETS
Copyright © 2002 by Words By Wisdom
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A
.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit Silhouette at www.eHarlequin.com