Roses After Midnight

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  He nodded jerkily, then practically ran back to the greenhouse.

  Mrs. Thatcher sighed deeply. “Takes after his father. That man was about as spineless as a jellyfish,” she declared.

  “Thank you also,” Celeste said.

  “I told you he wasn’t no Prince Charming,” the older woman said.

  “That’s an understatement,” Dylan said to Celeste as they returned to their vehicle. “Just do me a favor? Tonight, will you keep an eye on Paulie? See if he acts different than he does any other night.”

  “See if he has any visible scratches,” she added. “Too bad he thought to clean under her nails. We would have had prime DNA that way. I’ll see what I can pick up.”

  She didn’t want to think Paulie was Prince Charming, but as she thought about it, she could see why Dylan suddenly considered him a prime suspect. Paulie did fit the profile. She hadn’t looked closely at him because nothing in his file indicated he would do such a thing. But then, who could say he hadn’t changed over the years? And he’d always talked about his status as the quiet member of the trio….

  Maybe this quiet one wanted to be noticed, too.

  “So what did you do on your day off?” Jimmy asked when Luc walked into the kitchen. He headed for the coffeepot and poured himself a cup. “You know, we’re not used to you actually taking time for yourself.”

  “I drove out to Seacrest Village,” Luc replied. “Looked for new artwork for the dining room. Had lunch.” Made love with the most incredible woman in the world.

  “At least you didn’t make it all business.” Jimmy checked a sauce simmering in a pot.

  “How was it here?” Luc leaned against a counter and watched his friend work.

  “Quiet.”

  Luc felt heat spreading across the back of his neck just as Celeste stepped through the rear door. He straightened up when he noticed she wore the shawl he’d given her draped around her shoulders. The smile she offered him showed no sign that she’d come apart in his arms more than once last night.

  “Hey, Blondie,” Jimmy greeted her. “We got a shipment of wine in today you’ll need to double-check. I left the invoice on the bar for you.”

  “I’ll take care of it immediately.” She disappeared into the break room and came out looking ready for work.

  Luc waited a few minutes before following her. Celeste stood at the bar studying the invoice. She glanced up when he entered.

  “Thank you for making sure the dead bolt was secured,” she said.

  “You asked me to.” He set his coffee cup on the bar. “Jimmy had them put the wine down below.”

  She nodded. She chewed on her lower lip. “Have Jimmy or Paulie said anything about what they did yesterday?”

  “Since the restaurant was open and I wasn’t here, I would assume they worked.” He stopped and stared at her. “Wait a minute. There is no way in hell you can think either one of them had something to do with that attack,” he whispered fiercely.

  “More things have come up,” she murmured. “Think about it, Luc. I’ll be honest with you. With what we have, if you didn’t have a rock-hard alibi for last night, you would have come under suspicion, too.”

  “Of course. It’s easier to think of me that way, isn’t it.”

  “That’s not it and you know it,” Celeste argued, keeping her voice low. She wanted to tell him she was falling in love with him, but she sensed in his frame of mind he wouldn’t believe her. After all, no one had loved him before, so why would it happen now?

  “The princess and the mongrel.”

  “I don’t give a damn about your parents. I don’t give a damn about your past. Just your present, and I’d like to see a future.” Her eyes blazed silvery-green lights.

  He kept shaking his head. “Forget it, Celeste. Yes, last night was great, but when this is all over, you’ll be thankful I didn’t ask for more. As for Jimmy or Paulie, you’re way off base.” He held up his hand. “I don’t want to hear any more. You and I are done.” He didn’t look back as he left the restaurant.

  Celeste blew out an exasperated breath. “Stubborn idiot,” she muttered, unconsciously crumpling the invoice in her hand. She winced when she realized what she’d done, and carefully smoothed out the paper.

  Since she’d come in early, she decided she wanted a little time to herself. She decided to be brazen, and headed for Luc’s office. Once there, she closed the door and settled herself behind his desk. Comfortably ensconced in the soft leather chair, she imagined the warmth of his body curved around her. She even caught a hint of his scent in the air.

  Celeste was still hurt that Luc thought they were over. She knew it was going to be a long, hard road to convince him otherwise. Why did she have to fall in love with such a hardheaded man? He’d already proven to be more complicated than a Chinese puzzle.

  “You never liked things easy, did you?” she said. Whether she was speaking about herself or about Luc was another question.

  She hadn’t meant to, but she found herself idly sifting through the paperwork neatly arranged on his desk.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Celeste looked up to find Jimmy looming over her. He snatched the papers off the desk.

  “I knew something was going on between you two,” his voice boomed. “I could see it the minute you came in tonight. But let me tell you, honey, it won’t lead to anything. If you think you got him hooked, think again. Luc’s too smart to be used. He might sleep with you for the thrill of it, but it won’t be anything more than that.”

  Her stomach churned at his words because she suspected they could be true. Even in the face of Jimmy’s fury, she felt no fear. She couldn’t imagine his being Prince Charming. A man with his temper would have left Stacy Nash in even worse condition. She wasn’t going to take any chances, however, so she kept an eye on the paperweight near her hand. Just in case she needed to defend herself.

  “You don’t know what’s going on,” she said calmly.

  “Yeah, I know—a cute girl thinks she’ll get a free ride. It’s not going to happen, honey, because you’re fired,” he told her.

  “What is all this yelling about?” Paulie appeared in the doorway.

  Anytime Luc needed to be by himself, he drove. After leaving the restaurant, he got in his car and drove without giving a thought to his destination. He needed to be away from Celeste. He needed to think.

  He had to have been nuts to admit he was falling in love with her. He wasn’t meant for love. Didn’t she realize that?

  Yet she knew all about him and it hadn’t scared her off. She knew what his past was like and that didn’t repel her at all.

  And, God help him, he was falling in love with her, because even his pragmatic self said she was about the best thing in his world.

  He couldn’t understand why she thought Jimmy or Paulie could be the rapist. Jimmy sure couldn’t be. He wouldn’t think to leave a rose on a victim’s pillow. Jimmy never remembered to give his girlfriend flowers for her birthday unless he or Paulie reminded him.

  It wouldn’t be Paulie, either. Anytime a woman talked to him about more than the weather, Paulie practically stumbled over every word he uttered.

  Luc thought back to when they were hell-raising teenagers. Luc and Jimmy were always competing for the girls. Paulie even once said…

  He suddenly doubled over as if he’d been punched. Sickening clarity brought back a long-forgotten memory. Grateful he had his cell phone clipped to his belt, he quickly punched out the phone number for the restaurant. No one answered. He tried another phone number after that.

  “Dylan Parker.”

  Luc took a quick breath to keep the sick feeling from spilling over. “It’s Dante. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  Chapter 15

  “W hat is going on here?” Paulie looked from one to the other as he stood in the doorway.

  Jimmy shook his head and pointed at Celeste. “I caught her looking through Luc’s paperwork.
If you’d seen them earlier you’d know that something happened between them. I just bet Luc wasn’t alone yesterday. You were with him, weren’t you?” he demanded of Celeste.

  “You don’t understand,” she said.

  Jimmy muttered an uncomplimentary description of her. Paulie didn’t back down, but verbally attacked the larger man. Celeste wisely stayed out of it but kept an eye on both of them. Even then, she was unprepared when Jimmy hit Paulie in the face and pushed him out of his way as he stalked out of the office.

  “Are you all right?” she asked Paulie, leading him to a chair.

  He held his hands over his nose, which was bleeding profusely. “I don’t think it’s broken. I’ve had a broken nose before.”

  “Tip your head back. I’m going to get something for it,” she told him. She practically ran for the rest room, wet some paper towels and brought them back. “I’d get some ice, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go into the kitchen right now.” She gently moved his hands away, winced at the bruising that was already blooming and carefully wiped the blood from his face. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

  He smiled, then groaned as the motion pained him. “He didn’t need to call you that.”

  “He’s angry.”

  Paulie looked up at her. “You don’t need to stay here right now while you’re feeling upset. Let me take you home.” He waved off her protests. “Please.”

  She managed a smile. “Okay.”

  Paulie took her out to his car and tucked her into the passenger seat. She welcomed the blast of warm air after he started up the engine.

  “Are you dating Luc?” he asked once he’d pulled into the street. “It’s all right with me. You have to understand that Jimmy’s protective about both Luc and me. He’s like our big brother. We sort of watch over each other. For a long time we were the only family we had.”

  “With Luc, it’s complicated,” Celeste replied. “We were arguing earlier. Who knows, maybe the vibes stuck around and Jimmy picked up on them.” She looked down at her lap, only to find her hands twisting one way then the other. She quickly relaxed them.

  “Don’t worry about what Jimmy said. You’re not fired,” he assured her. “If nothing else, you’re way too good a bartender. He’ll cool off and later on, I wouldn’t be surprised if he even apologizes to you.”

  “I promise not to expect an apology,” she said.

  Paulie looked at her with what she would have described as puppy-dog eyes. “You deserve so much, Celeste. You deserve to be cherished. To be given beautiful roses and told how much you’re appreciated.”

  You deserve. Every victim she’d spoken to had told her that the rapist had said they deserved love or deserved to be loved. No matter what the phrase was exactly, he always used the word deserve. Alarm bells went off inside her head.

  Dylan was right.

  She licked her lips, which suddenly felt very dry.

  Maybe it was coincidence. Just because Paulie used that phrase didn’t mean he was the rapist. She told herself she was giving in to her suspicious nature, but it didn’t stop the prickles of unease traveling down her spine.

  It wasn’t until he parked in front of her building that she realized she hadn’t given him the address or even directions. She carefully kept her features blank.

  “Thank you for the ride,” she said, striving for a normal tone. “You’re right. It was better that someone else drove me.”

  Paulie climbed out and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door.

  “I can see myself in,” Celeste assured him.

  “There’s no way I’d let you go in by yourself.”

  She swiveled her hips and got to her feet. “I didn’t want to take you from your work any more than I needed to.” She managed to present him with a smile. “I’m going to go inside, change my clothes, fix myself a cup of hot tea and unwind.” And call Dylan and talk this over with him.

  Paulie circled his fingers around her wrist so that she couldn’t move away.

  “Luc wouldn’t like it if I didn’t make sure you got in safely.”

  Having no argument to his statement, she allowed him to guide her inside the building. She almost asked him how he knew which apartment was hers, but she already knew he would have a ready answer. When she unlocked the door and started inside, she tried to block his entrance, but Paulie was too fast. He was inside before she could blink. He closed the door behind him.

  “You know, don’t you?” He sounded sad and resigned. “I shouldn’t have mentioned the roses.”

  She could have tried to lie her way out of it, but decided against it.

  “Yes, I do,” she said quietly. “Paulie, I’m a police detective investigating the rapes. Let me help you.”

  His shoulders slumped. “I thought you were too good to be true.” He suddenly straightened. Celeste realized she wasn’t looking at the quiet man she’d gotten to know since that first day she’d met him at the restaurant.

  “Paulie, you can’t make things right, but you can do what’s right,” she insisted.

  He shook his head as he pulled her toward the center of the small living room. She tried to pull back, but he showed a strength he hadn’t revealed before.

  “No one knows we’re here,” he told her. “Both Luc and Jimmy left the restaurant before we did. Jimmy knew I was on my way out. I’m sorry, Celeste, but I can’t let you ruin things for me. For them. The scandal would destroy what we’ve built up.” He looked around. “Prince Charming usually strikes late at night, but I guess things could change.”

  Celeste forced her panic down. She knew she needed to keep her wits about her because Paulie wouldn’t allow this victim to survive the attack. Her first thought was to let loose a healthy scream, but she knew everyone living on this floor worked during the day, and while the building was old, it was well insulated. She never heard a sound from her neighbors the evenings she was home.

  “Believe me, Paulie, you don’t want to do this.” She squirmed in an attempt to escape, but his grip was too strong. If she survived this, she was sure to have bruises.

  He looked at her sadly. “I have no choice.”

  “You have plenty of choices! What you’re thinking of doing will only make things worse,” she pointed out. “You have to know they’ll catch you. My partner is like a pit bull. He doesn’t stop until the case is solved. Plus there’s Luc. We may have fought, but you have to know how this would affect him, too!”

  “Sure, he’ll be hurt for a while, but Jimmy and I will be there for him. The time will come when he won’t even remember your name.”

  Celeste vainly pulled on his hand.

  Paulie looked toward the bedroom. Celeste noticed the direction of his gaze and pulled all the harder. He ignored her efforts.

  “I never hurt any of those women,” he said. “You didn’t see them when they were in the cafe with men who didn’t appreciate them. I wanted the women to feel loved.”

  Her temper flared up even more at his words.

  “You didn’t love them! You raped them!” she yelled. “You broke in to their apartments or houses and, by God, you raped them! You took away their sense of self! One woman was so traumatized she had a heart attack and died. Another was a virgin, but she fought back, didn’t she? She didn’t want you to touch her!” She clawed at his arm. The sleeve slipped up and she saw scratches on his arm. “That’s what Stacy Nash did to you.” She intended to inflict her own hurt, and raked her nails down his arm. Tiny specks of blood appeared on his skin. A fierce part of her gloried in the knowledge she’d left marks, while her training reminded her if he wasn’t as careful as before, at least she would have evidence for Dylan to work with.

  A terrifying light appeared in his eyes as he practically pushed his face against hers. “You are wrong. I gave them the romance they didn’t get from those idiots in their lives. I understand what a woman wants, but do they bother with me? No! Women don’t even look at me once. They’ll look at Luc, or
even at Jimmy, but they always ignore me. Luc didn’t want a woman to love because he thought they wouldn’t love him. Jimmy thinks Valentine’s Day is for wimps. But I knew what I wanted for women. I wanted to give them what they never had before. I wanted to give them a lover who could cherish them.”

  Celeste’s thoughts raced through her mind. If something didn’t happen soon, there was an excellent chance she was going to be Prince Charming’s next victim. Dylan would have to work the case alone. What would happen with Luc? How would he handle the news of her death? Would he realize what he’d lost? She felt her throat tighten up at the thought of the man she loved.

  “No one will believe it’s an accident.” She spoke swiftly, struggling to keep desperation out of her voice. The last thing she wanted to show Paulie was any sign of weakness. “You know Luc and Jimmy will ask questions. They’ll probably even suspect you had something to do with it. Jimmy knows you were at the restaurant when he left. He might even wonder how I got home. What will you do when they start asking you questions you can’t answer? Will you kill them, too?” She hammered the words at him. “Tell me something, Paulie—will you kill your two best friends? The men you consider your family? They won’t cover up for you. You know they won’t.”

  “It won’t come to that,” he argued.

  “How do you know?” She ruthlessly continued. She pulled on his hand in hopes she could get loose, but he kept his grip tight. “You’ve killed once. Each time you kill, it just gets easier to do it another time.”

  “Shut up, Celeste.” He walked into the bedroom and pushed her so hard she lost her balance and fell on the bed.

  Freed of constraints, Celeste had pushed herself upward, ready to claw, scream and kick, when she heard a roar and watched Paulie fly through the air. The man landed hard on the floor, with a furious Luc looming over him.

  “You son of a bitch!” Luc snarled, reaching for him again. He drew his fist back, ready to inflict more pain.