Jess took a few sips from her water bottle. She checked her face in the rear view mirror and blotted the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Two minutes to six. "Just keep calm," she told herself. "Relax."
As she pulled up another few feet, she spotted the female customs agent standing near the booth. Jess sighed in relief, thankful that she’d wound up in the correct lane.
The guard was just as Ally had described her—tall, heavyset, her long black hair pulled into a ponytail. Jess's eyes locked onto her, willing the woman to stay in place until the Jag got up to her. Ally had promised that the guard would wave the car right through and she didn’t want to think about what would happen if she was late.
The woman didn't once look in her direction.
At exactly six another official came out to relieve the female agent. Please don’t leave, Jess prayed. As if she'd read Jess's thoughts, the woman looked right at her. Then she walked away.
It was over. She’d end up in prison and Lars would gain custody of her son. She swallowed with difficulty as she inched her car ahead. The male guard on duty motioned to her to pull her car forward. She nodded, pulled up next to him and rolled down her window.
“Nice trip?"
"Yes,” she replied.
"ID please."
She reached for Ally's purse. Fumbling nervously through it, she found Ally's wallet and tried to pull the license from its plastic holder. But her hands were slick with sweat and she couldn’t get it out. Cursing herself for not being more prepared, she handed the wallet over to the agent who calmly took it out and looked at it. Then he looked at her.
"What were you doing in Mexico?"
"Shopping." She tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it. "You know, looking for bargains."
He glanced at her back seat.
"Didn't find any? No bargains?"
"Not this time.”
She sensed he was about to return her wallet and wave her through, when another agent, one of the K9 handlers, walked up to him and she found herself looking at a German Shepherd.
The dog’s eyes stared unblinkingly at Jess.
If she could just get her wallet back, she'd get out of there and be okay.
She looked at the guard, willing him to finish up with and let her go.
When he finally reached out to hand her back her wallet, her hand was trembling so hard, she dropped the wallet onto the pavement, its contents spilling out. Muttering a weak apology, she quickly opened the door, then reached down and gathered up Ally's change, receipts, and credit cards, stuffing them nervously back into the wallet under the watchful eyes of the custom agents.
She forced herself to look directly into the agent’s eyes and smile. "I’m exhausted. It’s been a long day."
"You can go,” he said waving her though. She nodded, and pulled her car onto the highway. Though her instinct was to speed away, she forced herself to stay under the speed limit.
She did it! She couldn't believe it.
A feeling of giddiness overtook her. She turned the radio on full blast, rolled down the window and breathed in the cool fresh air. She’d never felt so alive. Perhaps that was the appeal of doing something dangerous––the euphoria one felt afterwards. It was probably addictive to some people, but thankfully, not to her.
All she wanted now was a hot bath, a cool drink and to forget this ever happened. She’d forget about Zach, the videotape, and this awful trip to Mexico. She’d be a better mother, work harder at her job and appreciate the things that were important to her. Like Danny.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Jess drove along, humming to the music on the radio, happy to be on her way home. She glimpsed a red light flashing in her rear view mirror and tensed for a moment, then told herself she was being silly--they couldn’t be after her. Still she took care to stay under the speed limit.
Stay calm she told herself as the police car pulled up alongside her. She held her breath and waited for it pass but instead, the cop motioned to her to pull over.
Jess pulled her car onto the shoulder and cut the engine. Her mind raced as she reached up and touched her hat, trying to think of some way to get quickly get rid of it. But it was too late. The cop was at her window.
He was over six feet tall, with short blonde hair, and a square jaw––a cop straight out of central casting. She smelled his aftershave as the wind whipped past him into her car. Had someone reported her after she left customs. Did they somehow know what she was up to?
“Are you Allessandra Parks? Just passed through customs five minutes ago?”
“Yes,” she replied in a shaky voice.
"Your license.”
Jess reached mechanically for Ally's Louis Vuitton purse and pulled out her sister’s wallet. She tried to appear calm but her stomach was in knots as she searched through it for the license. "I...I...can't seem to find it."
"Thought so,” he said and held out Ally’s license. "You left this back at customs. Probably dropped out of your wallet."
“Oh…oh yes. Yes, that must be what happened. Thank you.” She wanted to cry with relief as she took the license from him.
"No problem," he said, making no move to leave. "You’re a little nervous, aren’t you?"
She could feel his eyes studying her, watching as she nervously tried to slip the license back into its case with shaky hands.
"Guess some people get that way when a cop comes roaring up behind ‘em. Sorry about that." He removed his dark sunglasses and leaned in closer, revealing a pair of ice blue eyes.
"Allessandra. That’s a nice name.” He looked her over approvingly. "You know, Allessandra, if you ever want me to show you around Mexico, I'd be more than happy to."
She could see he was waiting for a response but she was too shocked to speak––here she’d thought he was going to arrest her but instead he was asking her out on a date. She felt a crazy need to burst out laughing. It was all she could do to it keep control. She frowned and bit down hard on her lip. "Sure" she squeaked out.
He smiled and pulled out a pad of paper and wrote something down. "Here ya go.”
He handed her the slip of paper. “Name’s Bob. Bob Smalley. Now you be sure to call me, Allessandra,” he said. Then he winked and walked back to his car.
Jess sat frozen in place and waited until he drove away. She glanced at the paper in her hand and saw that he'd written his name and number on it. Only then did she allow herself to lean back and let the tears roll down her cheeks. It had been a hell of a day.
It was almost ten p.m. when Jess pulled up to her sister’s house and she’d never felt so exhausted.
Ally opened the door before she even rang the bell. “You did it!" Ally said, reaching out to give her a quick hug. Jess removed the cowboy hat, eager to be rid of it, and shoved it into her sister's hand. “I’m going home,” she said.
"Wait, don’t go. Come in for a drink and tell me all about it. I know the first time can be tough. It was for me."
Jess hesitated. A part of her did want to tell her sister everything. It had been such an intense day and she'd never be able to talk about it with anyone else. Besides, all her belongs were inside.
Ally put a sympathetic arm around her shoulders and led her into the living room, then fixed them each a drink. “Now tell me all about it.” She took a seat next to Jess on the couch. “Then you can forget the whole thing ever happened. We’re even now. You can relax.”
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Jess opened her eyes to the bright morning sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window. It took a moment to figure out where she was and what had happened, then she remembered. Mexico.
She marveled at the fact that she’d actually gone through with it—the whole thing felt like a bad dream. But it had all been for Danny, she reminded herself. And now it was over. She stretched slowly and luxuriated in a newfound sense of freedom, then padded into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The steaming hot water ran over her body and down the drain, t
aking the stress of the last few days with it.
She hadn't seen Danny since before her trip and not being able to hug him until later that afternoon felt almost physically painful. Maybe she wouldn't wait. She didn't have any appointments, only routine paper work that could wait another day. Maybe she’d surprise him at school. She’d pick him up early and take him to the zoo or wherever he wanted to go.
Emerging from the shower, she wrapped a towel around her wet hair and slipped into a short white terry-cloth robe. Then she settled into her pale pink bedroom chair and dialed the phone. "Hi Sally? It's Jess."
"Oh, Jess, how are you? Feeling any better today?"
"Um, no. I'm still feeling under the weather." Jess was aware how easily the lie left her lips and hoped it wouldn’t become a habit. "I think I’d better take today off also.”
"No problem, Jess. You take care...oh, hold on, Maddy walked in and wants to talk to you.”
"Hey, Jess, still feeling sick?"
"I'm okay, Mad, I just needed to take the day off."
"Right. There're some papers here from the Persling deal that need your signature."
"Oh, darn. I forgot about that. Can you fax them?”
"Tell you what, I have to show a house in your area in five minutes. How about I stop by when I'm done and bring them to you?"
"That’d be great. I’ll make you breakfast."
"Sure thing. See you in about an hour"
Jess chopped up the mushrooms, onion and green peppers for the omelet and scooped them into the frying pan. While the vegetables were sauteing she ground the coffee beans and emptied them into the French press––a luxury that she usually reserved only for weekends. Then she reached into the cupboard for plates to set the table when the doorbell rang.
Maddy was early.
She hoped that didn't mean the showing had gone poorly. Jess wiped her hands on the dish towel and went to the front door.
"Maddy, you're early..." she said, as she opened it.
Two men stood in the doorway, the older one held up a badge.
She stared at it unable to speak or look away.
"Are you Jessica Parks?”
With his jowly, hangdog face and stocky, wide-legged stance, he bore a distinct resemblance to a bulldog.
She stood paralyzed with fear. “What is this about?” she said softly.
“I’m Detective Mathers and this is my partner Detective Sykes. LAPD.”
Jess looked from one man to the other.
"Ma'am can you tell us where you were last night?” the older cop asked.
She reached out to the doorframe for support.
"Ma'am can you tell us where you were last night?" the younger of the two men asked again.
"I...I was here...home sick," she said forcing the words out.
The older cop scribbled something on his note-pad and looked at her with narrowed suspicious eyes that bored right through her. "Can anyone verify that?"
Jess felt her knees give way and held more tightly to the door-frame. What would come next, she wondered. Handcuffs. Then they’d read her of her rights. Then they’d lead her away.
“What?” she asked, vaguely. She realized that the younger detective was speaking but she couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. His eyes seemed to be looking at her with concern, telling her she ought to sit down.
But that made no sense.
"I don’t understand. Please…” she whispered. “Just tell me what's going on.”
The two detectives looked at one another and finally the younger one, Sykes, spoke."I'm afraid we have some bad news. Your father was found dead last night."
Jess stared at them in shock.
Sykes helped Jess over to the couch. She felt as if she were in someone else's nightmare where nothing made sense. "I don't understand," she said, shaking her head, trying to clear the fog. “He was in perfect health. I just saw him.”
“When was that exactly?" Mathers asked.
Jess looked at him blankly. “What?” She realized she was shivering, though she didn’t feel cold. “Was it a heart attack?” asked, looking from one to the other of the men.
"No," Mathers said. "He was murdered.”
She looked down at her shaking hands. “No, that can’t be.” None of this made sense.
The acrid smell of coffee mixed with burning onions assaulted her nose and a wave of nausea swept over her. She had to get up and turn off the stove.
But she couldn't move.
Mathers looked at his notepad. "So you said you were here home sick last night? Anyone to corroborate that?"
Detective Sykes shot him a look and whispered, "Jeeze, Mathers. Not now. Go get her a drink or something."
As Mathers walked towards the kitchen Sykes pulled up a chair. "Is there anyone we can call for you, ma'am? Your husband? A friend?"
Jess shook her head. "I'm separated," she said softly. "A friend's on her way over. We were going to have breakfast."
Mathers returned holding a cup of coffee. "I found a pot on,” he said, handing the cup to Jess. "Turned off the stove too. Guess your breakfast got burnt."
Jess nodded blankly. She held the cup of coffee, staring out at nothing. She should get up. Call Ally. But she couldn't summon the will to move.
"Look, do you know when your friend will be here?" Sykes asked.
"Soon..." Her voice trailed off. “Who would want to kill my father?”
“We’re looking into it. Do you know if he had any enemies?”
Jess shook her head. “None of this makes any sense...”
"It was last night," Sykes said gently. "Sometime around eight when he was taking what I understand, was his nightly walk.”
"His walk," Jess nodded.
Again she began shivering. She placed the coffee cup on the cocktail table realizing she must in shock. She’d been through it before when her mother died. There’s always shock. Even when you expect it—like when her mother died after a long illness.
But this… sudden, violent death.
She’d never get to say goodbye. And worst of all, her last meeting with her father had been an argument. How could she have said those things to him? And now to never see him again.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
It had been two hours since Jess heard the news about her father and in that time she’d been too numb to cry. It helped to have Maddy there, to keep her company and make calls to various distant family members, but Jess knew that until she reached Ally, it wouldn’t feel real.
She’d left several messages but her sister still hadn’t returned any of her calls.
Murdered--it didn’t seem possible.
Jess heard the phone in the other room, then listened as Maddy answered, speaking in a soft voice. She came into the bedroom and handed Jess the phone.
“It’s Ally,” she said.
Jess took the phone. "Ally?”
“Hey, Jess. What’s up?”
“Ally, did you hear? About Daddy?" Jess's voice began to quiver.
"Yeah, I heard," Ally said in a voice that betrayed not a hint of sadness, at least none that Jess could pick up on over the phone. “I got the messages you left on my voicemail about it, and the cops were just here. Bummer, huh?" Ally said.
"Ally, please..."
“Please, yourself. I didn't like the bastard when he was alive and I'm not going to pretend to care now that he's dead. Why are you so upset anyway? He wasn’t exactly father of the year to you either."
"But…you know deep down he loved us."
Ally's overly-dramatic sigh came through the phone, loud and clear. "Jess, you’re so naive. Always making excuses for him. I guess that's why you're still in the will and I'm not. Not that I give a shit. You can have his money...after all, he bought your loyalty.”
Jess fought back the rage stirring inside her. But now was not the time to argue. "Listen the reason I'm calling, we have to plan the funeral and..."
"You'll have to do that on your own," Ally interrupted. "I d
on't think I'll be able to make it.”
"You're not going? To Daddy's funeral?”
"I'm not a hypocrite. Oh, and by the way. Jess…” Ally’s voice grew pensive . “You didn't tell the police where you were last night--did you?”
"Of course not," Jess snapped.
"That's good. So what did they ask you?"
"They wanted to know where I was last night and I told them I was home sick."
"Good girl! I knew I could count on you."
Jess could hear the relief in Ally’s voice, which made her blood boil. Why bring that up at a time like this? The trip to Mexico and lying to the police were last thing she wanted to think about now.
"Look, I'll talk to you later, I have to go," Jess said and hung up quickly. Tears spilled from her eyes and she wondered how she could still be surprised by Ally's behavior. It was so typical. She didn’t know how she ever could have thought that Ally had changed.
She broke into uncontrollable sobs.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
The funeral was four days later. As the priest spoke solemnly about what an impressive man her father had been, Jess glanced down Danny, who was sitting next to her. She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, wondering just how much he understood of what was going on.
Several days before, had sat him down and, told him about his grandfather’s death without going into detail. But she knew he didn’t fully understand what it meant and was certain there’d be many more discussions about it in the future. Perhaps in time she too would understand what happened. But for now, she kept her mind focused on things that had to be done.
Lars was sitting on the other side of Danny, his arm around his son’s shoulder. He glanced over at her sympathetically but she turned her head without responding. Though he’d left a kind message of condolence on voicemail, and had seemed to genuinely care about her father, Jess could not find it in her heart to overlook his betrayal in setting her up with Zach. And the trouble it had caused for her with her father.
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