by Jenna Jacob
“Oh, yeah. Hollow point, pretty close range, right between the eyes,” Sky replied, dryly. “Entry wound isn’t bad, but the exit got real messy. There’s splatter trail—” Katie’s sharp intake of air stopped Sky in mid-sentence. “Dammit. I’m sorry. I—I wasn’t thinking. Go back inside the house with Gran. Devin and I will handle this.”
“No.” Katie shook her head. “I need to see him.”
“No, you don’t. I can identify his bod—”
“I said I need to see him,” she adamantly demanded.
“All right.” Sky replied with a grim nod.
Devin tugged a flashlight from his belt as the three walked toward Gran’s yard. Katie’s feet felt like cinder blocks, but she forced herself to keep moving. The beam of light swayed over the grass until finally illuminating Doug’s motionless body. He lay on his back like someone counting the stars, only there were no stars in the cloudy sky, and he couldn’t see anything because he was dead.
Her knees began to shake. Aside from funerals, Katie had only seen one other person freshly dead…Grandpa. Bart St. Clair had dropped dead of a heart attack at the age of fifty-two. It was Gran’s bloodcurdling screams that had drawn Katie to the hay barn at the back of the house. At first she’d wanted to believe Grandpa was playing possum. But she’d known by Gran’s heartbreaking sobs that he’d gone to heaven to be with her mom.
Moving in closer, Devin flashed the light on Doug’s pasty white face. Her feet refused to go any farther. A trickle of blood slid from the hole in the center of his forehead, but it was the gray and red bits of wet slime scattered over the grass that had her stomach pitching and saliva pooling in her mouth. Pulling away from Sky, Katie raced to the big oak tree and emptied her stomach.
Warm, familiar hands caressed her back. “Baby,” Sky murmured softly. “Come on. Let me take you back to the house with Gran and Mom.”
“No.” Katie shook her head. “I can’t leave him.”
Sky’s expression slid from a look of concern to something that resembled hurt.
“There’s nothing you can do for him, honey.”
“I know. It’s just…I—I can’t leave him lying there all alone.”
Overwhelmed with happy memories, she felt a responsibility to stay by Doug’s side. She couldn’t seem to muster the fear and loathing or feel the raging hate for the pain and anguish he’d put her through. The thought of strangers gathered around his cold, lifeless body roused a need to protect and grant him dignity that she didn’t understand.
“But he’s dead, Katie.”
Sky’s harsh words pinged through her. He’d only seen the worst of Doug, and it made her angry. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she stood and gripped the rough bark of the tree.
“I’m not leaving him,” she snapped before storming toward Gran’s porch.
She felt Sky’s and Greg’s eyes on her as she plopped down on the wooden steps before they glanced back at Doug’s body, talking softly. She watched Devin stroll back to his patrol car as Sky blew out a heavy sigh and ambled toward her.
“Talk to me, Katie. Whatever you’re feeling, I’ll understand. I didn’t realize that you were still in love with him. And—”
“I wasn’t in love with him. Trust me,” she replied on a humorless laugh. “I don’t know what I’m feeling, but it’s not love. Duty…responsibility maybe… He’s a stranger in a strange town, surrounded by people he didn’t know and who didn’t know him. I can’t explain it any other way than that.”
Sky nodded. “I understand.”
“I’m glad you do, because I certainly don’t.”
Devin joined them on the porch wearing a professional, somber expression. “I called it in. The coroner and county sheriff will be here in a bit. If you all want to go back to Sky’s place, we’ll come take your statements there.”
“No.” Katie shook her head. “I’ll wait here.”
“We’re good,” Sky echoed before settling in next to Katie and pulling her in close beside him.
“I need my cell phone,” she murmured. “I need to call Reed and Veronica.”
“Are they family of the deceased?” Devin asked.
“No. My lawyer and secretary,” she replied. “Doug didn’t have anyone but me.”
A chill slid through her. “Where’s your purse? I’ll get it for you,” Devin offered.
“At Sky’s place.”
She watched as Devin jogged away. Questions began to take root in her brain. The daunting fact that everything…the company, the house, profits…Doug’s life insurance…all of it belonged to her now. A cold sweat broke out over her body. Overwhelmed, she shut off her brain—checked out—convincing herself that she’d deal with the onslaught of decisions to be made tomorrow.
Devin returned a few minutes later with her purse. After fishing out her cell phone, she dialed Veronica first. Once again, her call went unanswered. Something was wrong. Katie could feel it in the pit of her stomach. She dialed Thomas’s cell phone. He answered on the third ring.
“Miss Grant? Are you all right?” Thomas asked, his voice dripping with concern.
“No. Not really,” Katie replied. “I’ve been trying to reach Veronica all day. Do you know if she’s sick or something?”
“I’m not sure. I know she wasn’t in the office today, but I thought she might have taken a vacation day or something. If you’re worried, I can go check on her if you’d like.”
“No. That’s okay. I’ll figure something out.” Katie nibbled on her bottom lip as the uneasy feeling within mounted.
“You didn’t ask… but the Ballard Group’s presentation went wonderfully,” Thomas boasted as if stroking his own ego. “They’re anxious to get the campaign started. When are you coming back?”
“I—I’m not sure. There’s been an…” Pausing, she didn’t want to tell Thomas over the phone that Doug was dead. Though she wasn’t entirely sure why. The news would spread fast through the office, but something niggled the back of her brain she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“Are you all right, Miss Grant?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you, Thomas. I’ll touch base with you soon.” She ended the call and stared at her phone.
“What’s wrong, Katie?”
“Veronica. She didn’t show up for work today. Something’s not right. She would have called to tell me she was sick or taking a day off. This isn’t like her.” Zipping her gaze up at Devin, Katie frowned. “Can you contact the Chicago PD and ask them to go check Veronica’s apartment?”
“Of course.” Devin nodded.
She rifled through her purse for pen and paper, scrolled through her cell phone for Veronica’s information, and wrote it down. Devin took the paper and meandered back to his patrol car leaving her and Sky still seated on the steps.
“Maybe she’s got the flu, turned off her phone, and is sleeping.” He gently rubbed Katie’s back.
“Maybe,” she replied absently, still not convinced.
With a shake of her head, she cast away her worry and phoned Reed with the gruesome news. He promised to catch the next flight out of Chicago, and after Katie gave him directions to Gran’s, she hung up. Two patrol cars from the sheriff’s department pulled into the driveway. The calm was over. It was time for the storm. She sat on the porch holding Sky’s hand when the coroner arrived. Officers milled around Doug’s body, taking photos and examining his remains while talking in hushed tones. A gristly-looking officer approached.
“Can we have your permission to search the victim’s car, ma’am?” he asked.
“Yes. Of course.” She nodded, unsure of what they’d find. Had he brought a gun, intending to kill her once he’d lured her away from Sky and Gran? The terrifying question seemed to erode the numbness around her.
Sky placed his fingers beneath her chin and stared into her eyes. As if sensing her discord, he brushed a kiss over her lips. “We’ll get through this together, Katie. Try not to worry.”
His words only s
erved to reinforce her feelings of weakness. She had to find the strength to get through this shit fest and all the other decisions that now rested solely on her shoulders. Tears stung the backs of her eyes as she struggled to dig deep. Sucking in a fortifying breath, Katie nodded.
“Hey, Captain? You need to come see this,” one of the officers called as he peered into the trunk of the Bentley.
Katie craned her neck as Devin and the other officers clustered at the rear of Doug’s car. “I wonder what they found,” she absently asked.
The officers’ voices buzzed like bees around a hive. Devin looked pointedly at Sky, then jerked his head with a barely perceptible nod.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back,” Sky announced in a reassuring voice as he rose and walked away.
Kaitlin would have remained on the porch and followed his instructions, but Katie—reclaimed and fearless—stood and marched toward the vehicle.
“Whoa. Whoa. No. No. No,” Devin barked as he intercepted her. “Don’t go over there.”
“Time to put a call into the feds,” a stout officer announced as he pulled off his hat and scrubbed a hand through his thinning, white hair.
“What the hell is going on? What did you find?” Katie demanded.
“Go sit down,” Sky barked, his face pale and lined with worry. Quickly eating up the distance between them, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her so her back was now toward the car.
“Let me go,” she demanded in a huff. “What’s in there you don’t want me to see?”
Devin and Sky shared a worried glance before Sky wrapped her in his beefy arms.
“There’s a woman’s body in the trunk, Katie,” Devin revealed compassionately. “We may have found Veronica.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The world was collapsing, and the only thing that really mattered to me was that she was alive.
-Rick Riordan
Sky felt Katie’s knees give way. With a curse, he plucked her into his arms as a torrent of emotions raced over her face. Her eyes filled with tears and his guts tightened. This was too much…too fucking much for her to take in all at once.
“Go get Gran,” Sky instructed Devin. “I’m taking Katie into her house.”
Disturbed by the amount of torture inflicted on the woman in Doug’s trunk, Sky didn’t want to focus on what might have happened to Katie had she not been at his place for dinner. Yet he couldn’t erase the deadly suspicion from his mind. A frenzy of impotence raced through his system. Doug could have slaughtered both her and Gran, and Sky wouldn’t have been there to protect them. He wanted to find a way to revive the son of a bitch and kill him all over again.
Katie hadn’t uttered a single word since he’d carried her into the house and pulled her onto his lap on the couch. Cradling her in his arms like a child, he brushed strands of hair from her face as she stared out into space. Fearing she might be on the fringes of shock, he grabbed the blanket from the armrest and tucked it around her.
“Come back to me, love. Don’t climb inside yourself. I need you here with me,” he coaxed in a soft, gentle tone.
“Why?” Katie murmured. “Why did he kill her?”
“I wish I had answers for you, but I don’t. Doug was a sick fuck, but obviously he was a lot more messed up than any of us suspected.”
“But why Veronica? She didn’t do anything to him. She hated him as much as I did.”
He didn’t have the answer, and it left him feeling powerless. “Hopefully the police will figure that out for us soon.”
As if in a daze, Katie studied their huddled bodies. She swallowed audibly, then raised her chin. “You can go now. I’m fine.”
Sky cocked his head and sent her an incredulous stare. “I’m not going anywhere, Katie. You’re not fine, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to leave you like this.”
What the hell was she trying to prove?
She shook her head as if to refute him as she gallantly fought back her tears. “It’s better if you go. I’ll have to return to Chicago now. I’m sorry.”
Fuck that! No way in hell was he going to let her go back alone.
“We’ll talk about it later,” he assured her.
Before she could respond, Devin escorted Gran—frantic and pale—into the room. She took one look at Katie curled up in Sky’s arms and fell apart.
“Oh, Gran. Please don’t cry,” Katie begged as she rolled to her feet and hugged the sobbing woman. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. If I’d known this was going to happen, I never would have come home.”
As both women sobbed, Sky closed his eyes and exhaled a heavy breath. Katie yo-yoed between capable and strong, and broken and weak. He worried she might totally crack before the night was through.
“I’ll go fix some coffee,” he murmured, leaving the women to cry and hug one another.
Devin followed him into the kitchen. Sky could tell by the expression on his friend’s face there was more bad news.
“Just fucking say it,” he demanded, his tone gravelly and impatient.
“We’ve found a lot of shit in his car besides the body. A gun, rope, and shovel. It looks like Doug was plan—”
“Planning to kill Katie. I already figured that one out.”
“We also found a life insurance policy.”
“Let me guess… the policy was for Katie, right?” Devin grimly nodded. “How much did he take out on her?”
“Seventy-five million.”
Sky bent and gripped the edge of the sink as he sucked in a deep breath. “If she and Gran hadn’t been at our place, Doug would be a very rich man right now.”
“Don’t go there,” Devin replied. “It didn’t play out that way for a reason.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Silently, they waited for the coffee to brew. All Sky wanted to do was pack up Nina and Katie and run the fuck away. Leave everything behind, but that would be too easy. And life was anything but easy.
“The feds are on their way from Des Moines. They’ll be here soon. What can I do to help, brother?” Devin’s voice held a tone of compassion and helplessness.
Sky grunted. “Nothing, unless you’re up for aiding and abetting a kidnapping.”
A wry smile tugged Devin’s lips. “I think Katie’s been through enough for one night. Don’t you?”
“I can wait until tomorrow…give me time to work out all the details,” Sky said with a cynical smile.
Like a fool, he actually pondered kidnapping Katie…wondering what might happen if he truly did. You’d get ten to twenty, maybe less with good behavior. He scrubbed a hand on the back of his neck.
Sky poured two mugs of coffee before sauntering into the family room. Gran’s worried expression filled him with sorrow, but Katie’s zombie-like features scared the shit out of him. Still staring out into space, she took the mug and mumbled a thank you but didn’t bother to give him a glance. Gran’s frown deepened.
“Drink up, Katie-girl. I have a feeling we’re in for a long night,” the old woman coaxed.
As if on autopilot, Katie drew the mug to her lips. Gran rubbed her back, but even the woman’s touch didn’t seem to register. Kneeling in front of her, Sky waited until she focused her eyes on him.
“Devin and I are going outside for a few minutes. I’ll be back to check on you soon.”
Katie simply nodded before dropping her gaze to the floor.
Outside, more officers had arrived along with several sullen-faced men in suits. Floodlights had been erected and lit up the night like the Vegas strip.
“This is turning into a fucking zoo,” Sky spat before glancing over his shoulder toward the house. He wanted to shield Katie from the gruesome carnival atmosphere but didn’t have a clue how to do it.
When Sky turned back, his mom and Greg were standing in the yard across the road talking to two men in suits. Though Greg’s arm was around Brooke’s waist, supporting her, Sky was pissed. She was supposed to be inside on the couch like the doctor ordered. He wanted to stay wi
th Katie and Gran but needed to get his mom back inside his own house. He felt as if he were caught in a fucking blender.
“Let me know if they find anything else,” he instructed Devin. “I’ll be back.”
With his jaw clenched, Sky sprinted across the road.
“How’s Katie?” Brooke asked. Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
“Not good…Gran’s with her. I’m just as worried about you. You’re supposed to be resting.” He pointedly looked at the two detectives. “She just got out of the hospital.”
“We can take this inside if you’d like, ma’am,” one of the men offered.
“That’s a brilliant idea,” Sky spat.
“Easy, honey,” Brooke soothed with a warning tone. “I know you’re worried about Katie, but try to keep a level head.”
Sky grunted and waited until Greg had his mom and the detectives back inside his house. As he headed toward Gran’s, Devin was waiting for him at the end of the driveway. Christ. What now?
“There are some very interesting text messages on Doug’s phone,” Devin informed him cryptically. “He and Veronica were having an affair.”
“What?” Sky barked. “Do they know if that’s her in the trunk yet?”
“Not definitively. They pulled her photo from the DMV in Chicago. It’s hard to tell with so much damage to her face, but they’re running fingerprints. If that doesn’t pan out, they’ll check dental records.”
“Why did he kill her?”
“No clue. Chicago PD is combing her apartment as we speak.”
“Anything on the limo? Or the guy who killed Doug?”
“Not yet. My captain gave the feds your statement. They’ve got every cop in the state looking for the limo, but no sign of him yet.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Is your mom doing all right?”
“Yeah. She’s upset, like we all are, but she’s doing okay. Look, I’m going back in to check on Katie. Come get me if there’s any more surprises.”
“You got it.” Devin nodded, slapping him soundly on the back.
As he made his way up the drive, Sky looked over at Doug’s car. All four doors hung open like a double-winged wasp. Straight-faced detectives combed the interior, holding plastic bags and dusting every available surface with graphite. Sky felt as if he were walking through a strange, demented dream, only this one he couldn’t wake up from. It was real.