A Cold Day in Hell

by Stella Cameron

  Matt frowned. “First I want to know how Eileen is.” He gave her a piercing look. “What happened to you? What do you remember?”

  She told him slowly, trying not to leave anything out, but he still looked ferocious.

  “How did you know where to find Mrs. Moggeridge?” Matt said to Chuzah.

  Eileen wanted to tell him to get rid of the act. She didn’t.

  “My dog found her. He led her toward this house and barked until I went out to meet them.”

  “Quite a dog,” Matt said, his skepticism accentuated in each word. “Does he usually run around the swamp at night? Aren’t you afraid the gators’ll get him?”

  Eileen drew a shaky breath. She’d thought about gators while she was out there.

  “Locum knows the swamps,” Chuzah said. “He needs to run and he takes good care of himself.”

  “Interesting,” Matt said. “You got cold hands?”

  “No,” Chuzah said. He wore white gloves and Angel didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed them before.

  “What’s with the gloves then?” Matt said.

  “Occasionally I like to wear gloves,” Chuzah said, but Angel thought he saw the slightest flicker of uncertainty in the man’s black eyes.

  “You surely don’t need them indoors,” Matt said.

  Chuzah didn’t wait to be told to take them off. He pulled them from his hands and tossed them aside.

  “An altar,” Matt said, moving slowly closer to the raised, screen-backed place where candles flickered and, as before, something sizzled. “What’s cookin’, sheep’s eyes?”

  “Take a look,” Chuzah invited. “It’s not sheep’s eyes.”

  Matt bent to take a closer look but quickly straightened. “It’s a baby thing. Is it a cat?”

  “Cats are…no, never a cat. It’s a rat fetus. I like the smell.”

  He got a questioning gaze from Matt who said, “Enough messing around. I’m going—” He closed his mouth and stared before pointing to Chuzah. “Turn both of your hands over. Palm side up.”

  Showing no emotion, Chuzah did as he was told. His palms and the tips of his fingers were red, blistered and covered with small cuts.

  Matt took handcuffs from the back of his belt, slapped them on Chuzah’s wrists and said, “Should be interesting to hear you explain those away. We’re taking you in.”

  31

  Five o’clock in the morning and Gracie heard the faintest sound. She recognized a key turning in a lock, no matter how quietly done. When Chuck let himself into her apartment and walked into the kitchen, she held her ground and returned his glare with an oblivious smile.

  “Good morning. Did you lock my door?” she said, and took the kettle to the sink to fill.

  No reply.

  She hadn’t expected one, but she wasn’t going to let him know that he was scaring her. “I’m surprised you’re here—you never were a morning person,” she said. She hoped Rusty’s ears weren’t as good as hers. “I’m making some instant coffee. I want to work out this morning and I don’t have time to brew any. Do you want a cup? I’ve got some yam bread I can toast. Chuck, sit at the table.”

  No reply, and she didn’t hear him move.

  Heat exploded inside her. Rage made her face burn and her teeth clamp together. “Fuck you, Chuck Moggeridge.” She slammed down the kettle and faced him. “What do you think you’re doing, sneaking in here when you’re not expected. Rusty could have heard you. And why are you looking at me like that, like I’ve done something wrong? I’ve got a lot to do. Get out.”

  He took a step forward and slapped her face. “If I get out, I won’t be back,” he said. “Is that what you want?”

  “Yes!” Gracie held her face, covered it with both hands. “Go, freak. I don’t hang out with men who hit me in the face.” She wanted to be alone. She wanted to cry alone. Why did everything have to go wrong for her?

  “You agreed to stay away from Eileen.”

  “I have!”

  “You called to check up on how she’s doing, damn you. You called Matt, then you called her place.”

  She touched her stinging face again. “How do you know?”

  “I was told by someone who thought you were nice. Damn you, Gracie. You’re staying close to her in case you decide to make trouble for me.”

  “We never talked about me not calling her,” she said.

  “You should have known better.”

  “What am I, a glass ball?”

  He came in closer again. “You’re a spoiler, that’s what you are. You don’t want to help me with Eileen.”

  “I don’t want to help you marry her? No, I don’t. How is that goin’ to bring you and me close?”

  Chuck grabbed her wrists. “You didn’t believe what I said when I told you I’m doing this for the two of us, for you and me. I only want Eileen because she’s got money now. And my chances are best while Aaron’s still here. I can tell he likes having me around and I’m going to use that, too.”

  “Yeah. So where would I figure into anything?”

  His face had whitened. His lips were white and rigid. “Maybe you don’t.”

  Prickling in her eyes shamed her. She looked away.

  “Ah, Gracie, you know you do. Without you, none of this would be worth it. It was because of you that I came back. I’ve felt bad about us ever since I left, but I couldn’t figure out how to put things right. Now I have and it’s going to work for us, baby.”

  “Is it?” The thought she had was new. It could be better for her to cut her losses with Chuck. “I’ve got to think this through. Without letting emotion get in the way.”

  With his eyes lowered, Chuck said, “I understand. I don’t know what made me snap. All the fuss last night, I guess. And I saw Aaron.”

  Gracie studied him through narrowed eyes. “You love him a lot.”

  “I didn’t know how much till I came back this time. He’s a good kid. I want to know him and for him to know me. After Eileen went missing, he looked like he was falling apart but he kept on going. Aaron’s strong.”

  “It’s nice to love a kid that much.”

  He looked at her sharply. “Gracie, believe me. I wish I could turn the clock back so we could have our baby. I was so wrong to do what I did, to turn my back. I felt trapped. That’s not the explanation you want to hear because it’s not good enough. But it’s all I’ve got. And now I want to make it up to you.”

  It wasn’t easy to say, “You can’t bring our child back.” The pregnancy had been early when she found out she was going to have to go through it alone. “He would have been going on two now.”

  “I’m sorry.” With a smile that softened his face, Chuck said, “If you want, we can have another one.”

  Making big decisions wasn’t going to happen fast. “We’ll see.” Her anger toward him did dampen.

  In a rapid move, Chuck pulled her terry robe loose. In fell open. She was naked underneath, just as he’d known she would be. He knew her habits too well.

  She put her hands in the robe pockets and made no effort to wrap it around her. “It was normal to call about Eileen. We’re supposed to be friends.” God, how she hated the woman.

  Chuck thought about that. “You’re probably right,” he said, looking her body over. “Can I come over tonight, baby?” Chuck said softly. He stroked both of her breasts and used his rough thumbs to incite the very ends of her nipples. “I need to be with you. Don’t worry about when I get back with Eileen. She doesn’t have what you have. I’ll just put up with her to get what we want, but it’s you I’ll be comin’ home to just as much as I can.”

  She loved what he could do to her and right now she felt like taking him to the shower with her and really getting it on, but she said, “I hope you mean every word you say. Ditch me again and I’ll make sure it’s you that suffers this time. I’d ruin everything for you, Chuck. I promise you.”

  He laughed. “You can sound so tough.” He caught her around the waist, under her robe and started
licking a line from her collarbones down between her breasts.

  Gracie stopped him when he reached her navel. “I’ve got to get to my workout,” she said. “It gives me the energy I need to deal with all the long days.”

  “Mmm.” He fastened his teeth and lips on her breast and nibbled, sucked. He paused to say, “I’ll give you all the workout you need. You’re so hot, you burn me. C’mon, let’s get somewhere comfy.”

  No woman would miss how badly he needed sex right now. Gracie sensed it because he’d turned off anything else he’d been worrying about. This was about the two of them and an itch they scratched so well together.

  She couldn’t give in to him. “Come on up and let me see your face,” she said, making her voice purr. “Come on, look at me. You’re a big boy. Oh, yeah you are such a big boy. I want you, Chuck.”

  “Of course you do.” His moist mouth stayed open and his eyes weren’t focused. “We’ve got something special.”

  “What time will you come back tonight?” she asked, holding the lapels of her robe together. “I’ll cook you dinner. We can talk about whatever happens today, and then it’ll be playtime, big boy.”

  His mouth turned sharply down. “I want to play some now.”

  “Petulant,” she said, laughing quietly. With hasty motions she retied the robe. “I guess I’ll have to be strong for both of us. Tell that magic pole of yours to take a nap till tonight.”

  For a moment the dark frown returned, but it went just as quickly and he managed an imitation of an amused smile. “You’re one hard woman,” he said. “Okay, I know when I’m beat. Can I at least watch you get dressed?”

  “No,” she said and didn’t smile. “Go about your business and let me get to mine. I’ll buy something for dinner and cook it for you. What time?” she asked again.

  “Seven or eight.” He backed off and retrieved his light jacket from the back of a chair. “I know it’s a bit late, but they’re pushing us on the job. And the overtime pay’s good.”

  Gracie said, “Fine,” and shooed him toward the door.

  After giving her a serious kiss, he let himself out into the living room Rusty never used, but Gracie stopped him from shutting her door. “You take care now, y’hear?” she whispered, moving into the main room of the house behind him. She waved as Chuck went out the front door and closed it.

  The strain was getting to her. She pushed fingers into her eyes. The past couple of weeks had been crazy. It was time to get through with this part and move on. Chuck had mentioned another baby, but he hadn’t even mentioned that she’d called the child they could already have “him.” That was because he didn’t even pick up on it—or care.

  Men weren’t as observant as women about some things, she thought. She needed to hurry to get to the gym before work.

  The slightest movement above her, barely noticed, jolted Gracie. She looked up and saw nothing above the loft wall. She started breathing again.

  Then she heard the sound of a door, Rusty’s bedroom door, closing softly.

  Half an hour later Gracie, dressed in a loose, cropped T-shirt and cotton shorts, climbed the stairs to the loft in Rusty’s house. She had thought of and discarded a string of things to say to him. Now she thought she had the perfect lines.

  “Where are you going?”

  Gracie blinked rapidly, reacting to a jolt that went all the way to her toes. Rather than being in his bedroom, as she’d expected, Rusty sat on a wicker love seat, his heels resting on the edge of the faded floral seat cushions.

  “I thought you’d be in bed,” she said and coughed, checking all around her. “I was going to knock lightly on your door and see if you were awake.”

  “You saw me up here right after Chuck left and you panicked,” he told her evenly. “While you were deciding what to do, I figured I’d better come out here so I wouldn’t miss anything. Do you blame me for wanting to keep an eye on what happens in this house?”

  “I’ve always been an easy tenant, Rusty. Never any trouble.”

  He rested his head against the back of the seat, all the time staring into her eyes. “That’s not what I asked you about. I didn’t say you weren’t a good tenant. I asked if you agreed that a sensible man makes sure his home isn’t being used for the wrong things.”

  Gracie swallowed several times. Her throat remained dry.

  “Do you?” Rusty’s green eyes were so cold, she folded her arms tightly to stop herself from trembling.

  “You’d be wrong not to be careful,” she said. “I wouldn’t feel safe here if you didn’t. I just want to explain about Chuck.”

  Rusty took a hard candy from a bowl on a table beside him and put it in his mouth. He sucked hard, never looking away from Gracie. He had dark red hair shot though with some gray strands, a sharply defined nose and his mouth was wide. A good-looking guy, Gracie had thought from the day she met him.

  “Could we have a chat?” she asked. He could blow everything for her and Chuck. “What I’m most worried about is your feelings about me. I’m hardworking and respectable. You wouldn’t have rented to me if you hadn’t known that.”

  He cracked through the hard shell of the candy. The love seat and two tables with lamps were the only furnishings in the entry to the loft—other than a table, with a laptop on it, pushed against a bookshelf on the opposite wall.

  Gracie needed to sit down so she didn’t have to keep on feeling like an unruly kid in the principal’s office. Even the chair usually in front of the table wasn’t there this morning.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Somewhere to sit,” she said automatically. “It doesn’t matter, though.”

  “There’s room here.” He scooted close to the right arm of the seat and concentrated on selecting another candy while she sat beside him. She should have worn a bra, and something other than skimpy shorts that crept into her groin and showed her belly button between a low waistband and the bottom of her short T-shirt.

  Rusty tossed a red candy into his mouth. “Want one?” he said.

  “No, thanks. I’ve been lonely a long time, Rusty. When Chuck came back to Pointe Judah, he called to see if I wanted to go out for a meal. We used to know each other a bit so I went and we had a nice time.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Where had the nice Rusty gone? “It means we had dinner together and talked. What came out was that we’re both lonely and a man and woman can have a friendship without it leading to sex. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it? That Chuck and I are sneaking around having sex.”

  “Why would you have to sneak around?” He turned toward her, adjusting his position. “He’s not married. You’re not married. Some folk are married and still have sex with other people. None of my business.”

  “But we haven’t,” Gracie said, trying to sound insulted at the idea. “We aren’t interested that way.”

  “I still say it’s your business.” Finally he lost interest in her face and gave her body a long study. Then his gaze returned to the tops of her legs, to her crotch, before her breasts got a thorough visual massage.

  Gracie needed him to say he believed her, not that it was okay for her to get in the sack with Chuck. Rusty could blow everything for them with a casual remark that got back to Eileen. Gracie wanted Chuck’s plan to work. She was on board and if they didn’t pull it off, it wouldn’t be her fault—unless she allowed Rusty to keep on thinking she and Chuck were intimate.

  “You’re lonely, Rusty,” she said, careful with every word she said. “You have to be. All you do is work like crazy to keep that paper going and then grab a few hours sleep. It makes me feel bad that you don’t have anyone special in your life.”

  “Don’t waste your bad feelings on me,” he said and again she got a thorough inspection. Rusty glanced at her face. “You’re a lovely woman. You shouldn’t feel lonely. There must be guys out there who are aching to date you. You meet a lot of men.”

  “Not any I want.”

  “D
o you give anyone a chance to get to know you?” Rusty said.

  “No, and I won’t unless I know them first. Which means I’m on my own. But I’m just fine with it. I’m making my way nicely. I don’t suppose Chuck will stay here long. He’s a traveler. When he goes, I’ll miss him.”

  “You never can tell who might come along to make sure you don’t have to miss him.” Rusty smiled a little and touched her beneath the chin. “You hang in there. You’ll be okay.”

  “Thank you.” She looked down and felt good when she saw his erection. “But I want to know you believe me about Chuck.”

  “I believe you.”

  “Thank you.” She felt her lungs deflate in a rush. “I’m going to make dinner this evening and Chuck’s coming. Why don’t you come, too?” She felt brilliant.

  He raised his eyebrows. “I’m grateful for the invitation, but I’ll be working. You know how late I get in.”

  She managed to look disappointed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m just going to have to wait up for you one of these nights,” she said.

  “Maybe,” Rusty said. He got up and pulled her to her feet. “Feel okay now?”

  “Oh, yes.” When he released her hand she gave a little wave and walked toward the top of the stairs. Looking back quickly she caught him with his eyes on her fanny. “I feel fine, thanks to you. Go get some sleep.”

  He nodded, but waited while she ran down the stairs and until she couldn’t see him anymore.

  She didn’t feel fine. And she didn’t know if he’d told the truth when he said he believed her story about Chuck. Rusty wanted to get her in bed and that could help stop him from throwing out any dicey remarks.

  Telling Chuck about any of this was out of the question.

  32

  Bringing Eileen to his place had made sense. She’d been there since Mitch Halpern cleared her at the clinic early in the afternoon of the day before. Aaron and Sonny were out at Chuzah’s, keeping an eye on the place and making sure Locum was okay.

  “Eileen?” Angel said quietly, pushing the door to his bedroom open. “I’m home.” He looked heavenward. That sounded like something a husband said.