"So what went down tonight?" Wayne said as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"When it started to get dark and Harriett hadn't come home yet, I figured she was still at her office." Jessie leaned back against the building and rubbed her face with both hands. "The tail I had on Collins didn't report anything. Then I got a call from my office. They finally matched one of the partials from the stolen car to Wilkes's prints and matched DNA from the semen on Harriett's truck with that from the two girls who were murdered here not long before that."
"Go on," Wayne said as he flipped his cigarette away.
Clearing her throat, she continued, "I called for back up and drove
to Harriett's office. Her rental was still in the driveway, but there
weren't any lights on inside. We went into the house as quietly as
possible and saw a light from under an upstairs door, but by the time
we broke in.... "
"You saved her life, Jess," Wayne said, resting a big hand on her shoulder, "That's all that matters."
Jess smiled weakly at him, "Hope she'll feel the same way. What hospital did they take Wilkes to?"
"None. Croaked in the ambulance. DOA," Wayne answered with a smile. "Good shootin'."
"No great loss to humanity," Jess said, pushing her body away from the wall. "There'll be a shitload of paperwork to fill out since he died and a shooting review board. I need to turn in my weapon. I'm...I'm so sorry, Wayne."
"No way you could have known," he said gently.
Chapter Forty-Five
JESS AND LACEY helped Harriett out of the Durango the next afternoon as Wayne and Nick pulled in behind them. Lacey put her arm around her aunt's shoulders while Jess walked ahead to unlock the front door.
As they reached the front steps, Wayne put his arm around Harriett and hugged her briefly before escorting her inside.
"Can I get you anything, honey?" Wayne asked as they entered Jess's living room.
Managing a small smile, she said, "I could use a double bourbon, straight up."
"I'll get it," Lacey volunteered.
Harriett looked around before moving to the overstuffed sofa near the fireplace. Sitting gingerly, she drew her legs up under her and leaned her head back. Lacey returned with her drink as Jess came down the stairs from the bedroom.
"You should get some rest," Jess said as she stood behind Harriett and placed her hand on he shoulder, feeling her body flinch slightly at being touched.
Harriett shook her head and frowned. "I'm all right."
"No, you're not," Wayne said.
Harriett shot him a look and snapped, "It happened, okay. I'll get over it."
"Not alone you won't, and you know it," he said.
Setting her drink down, Harriett got up quickly from the couch to confront him, biting her lower lip to control her pain.
"I don't want you here!" she said loudly, her voice quivering slightly. "I don't want anyone with me! Or are you too fucking stupid to understand that?"
"Take it easy, Harriett," Jess said, glancing at Lacey. "You're mad as hell and have a good reason to be, but Wayne's right. The sooner you can talk about it, the better off you'll be."
"And who came up with that brilliant piece of bullshit," she said as she wiped her nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
"Actually, Helen told me that when I called her from the hospital," Jess replied calmly.
"Fabulous! Is she going to drop by, too?" she snapped.
"If you need her to. None of us can begin to imagine what you've gone through. If you can't talk to us, then call her."
"You're damn right you can't imagine it, Jess. Shit! I couldn't imagine it either. But when it happened, there wasn't a goddamn thing I could do about it."
"You're alive, Harriett. That's what's important," Jess said, placing her hand on Harriett's arm.
Harriett slapped Jess's hand away and struck her chest with her fist. "And where the fuck were you?" she said loudly. "You were supposed to protect me! You promised you wouldn't let anyone hurt me!"
Stunned by the outburst, Jess started to reach out to pull her into her arms, but the anger in Harriett's eyes stopped her.
"I know. I'm sorry," Jess said softly. She knew she had let Harriett down. Just the way she had let Renee and Clayton down. The only difference was that Harriett had survived.
"Sorry? Sorry doesn't quite cut it, Jess! I trusted you," Harriett snapped as she pushed past Jess and went up the stairs.
"She'll be okay," Jess said calmly.
"I'll call Landers for a week's continuance," Nick said.
"She just needs some rest," Wayne grumbled. "And so do I. I'll be at Harriett's if you need anything, Jess."
Jess walked out with Wayne and Nick. When she returned to the house, she saw Lacey leaning against the front door.
"You okay?" Jess asked.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Lacey said quietly.
"Just be there for her. You're all she has, so you'll have to be strong for her."
Lacey stuck her hands in the pockets of her jeans and walked slowly back into the house. "She shouldn't have said what she did to you, Jess."
"She's upset and has a reason to be, but she's a strong woman surrounded by people who love her. It might take a while, but she'll be okay, Lacey."
"I hope so."
HARRIETT SLEPT UNTIL early evening. She felt sore all over and walked into the bathroom to wash her face, carefully avoiding looking at herself in the mirror. She found Jess and Lacey standing at a kitchen counter peeling potatoes when she finally went downstairs.
"Feeling better?" Jess asked when she saw Harriett enter the kitchen.
"Much," Harriett said nervously, glancing between Jess and Lacey. "I'm sorry about earlier, Jess," she said quietly. "I didn't mean..."
"You don't have to apologize, Harriett. Especially not to me. You have every right to be mad."
"I'm not mad at you."
"I know that," Jess smiled as she pushed her glasses up with the back of her hand. "Right now you need to eat a good meal."
Harriett smiled back at her. "Can I help?"
"Sure. Why don't you whip up a salad? I think Lacey and I have everything else under control."
"What are you concocting?" Harriett asked as she looked in the refrigerator.
"I have no idea," Lacey laughed. "This is sort of free form cooking using whatever we could find."
"Sounds delicious," Harriett said sarcastically.
Harriett carried lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onions to the counter and pulled a knife from a drawer. Jess glanced at her and saw her staring at the knife.
"Nick called Judge Landers at home earlier," Jess said, breaking Harriett's trance. "He's granting a week's continuance. Said he'd contact Lassiter's people about it."
"I'm sure that will piss Lassiter off. He probably thinks I conjured this up as a delaying tactic," Harriett said.
"He's an asshole, in case you hadn't noticed."
Harriett laughed lightly. "It's crossed my mind."
"Landers said he'd be open to a longer continuance if you needed it."
"I have to face people sooner or later, Jess, so they can all stare at me and get it over with."
"It wasn't your fault, Aunt Harriett," Lacey said. "It was that asshole Wilkes's fault."
"When I took his case twelve years ago, I set all this in motion."
"That's ridiculous," Lacey protested. "Personally, I think you have a legitimate lawsuit against the State. They were supposed to warn you that he was out and they didn't."
"How's that salad coming?" Jess asked. "We're almost ready here."
"If I ask a question, will you two give me a truthful answer?" Harriett asked.
"Depends on the question," Jess said as she set plates on the kitchen table.
"How bad do I look? I haven't had the guts to look in a mirror yet."
"I've seen you look better," Jess smiled. "Purple isn't really your color."
"Makeup can do miracles these days," Lacey shrugged.
Harriett laughed as she put salad into three bowls and set them on the center kitchen island. Turning around, she moved behind Jess and placed her hands on her shoulders and leaned forward against her.
"Well, it smells delicious, whatever the hell it is," she said.
AT ELEVEN-THIRTY that night, Jess was sitting cross-legged on the sofa going over paperwork. They had talked for a long time over dinner, and she was glad that Harriett had been able to laugh even though she knew that Wilkes was never out of her mind. She had insisted that Lacey keep her date with Devon and the house was quiet.
Pulling her glasses off, she leaned back on a stack of pillows to rub her eyes when she heard Harriett's voice coming from the bedroom. Bolting up, she took the stairs two at a time and slowly pushed the door open. Harriett was thrashing around in the bed and talking in her sleep. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jess called her name quietly and shook her gently, her nightshirt damp to the touch. Harriett jerked up in bed, breathing heavily as Jess turned on the lamp on the nightstand. As soon as she recognized her, Harriett covered her face with her hands.
"Bad dream?" Jess asked softly as she pushed damp hair away from Harriett's face.
"He was right here. I saw him as clearly as I see you now," Harriett said exhaling loudly.
"Maybe you should take a sedative."
Harriett shook her head. "Not unless I want to spend the rest of my life on them."
"Your clothes are soaking wet and so are the sheets. Why don't you change while I take care of these?"
Harriett carried dry clothes into the bathroom, and Jess pulled the sheets off the bed and had replaced them by the time Harriett returned.
"There you go," she said. "Good as new."
Harriett climbed back in bed and laid back as Jess took the old sheets into the bathroom and placed them in a hamper. Returning, she stood over Harriett, smiling down at her.
"Can I get you anything?"
"I'm fine, but I wouldn't mind a little conversation."
"Sure," Jess said, as she sat on the bed next to Harriett.
"Have you dealt with many...rape victims, Jess?" Harriett asked.
"More than I wanted to," Jess said softly. "Just remember that none of this was your fault, Harriett."
"You're a good woman, Jess."
"Yeah, I'm a real jewel," she smiled.
"Do me another favor?"
"Anything."
As Harriett looked at Jess, her eyes glistened and she blinked hard.
"Please hold me, Jess. I don't want the thought of his hands on me to be the last thing in my mind before I go to sleep tonight."
Jess pulled the bed quilt up and slid under it, switching off the lamp on the nightstand. Wrapping her arm over the woman she knew she had fallen in love with, she wished she could erase everything that had happened in the last two days as she gently stroked Harriett's body until she heard the soft rhythmic sounds of sleep.
"HELLO, HELEN," JESS said as she stepped aside to let Helen Mortenson in the house.
Helen hugged Jess briefly and looked at her closely. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't I be? Nothing happened to me," Jess frowned.
"Something most certainly did happen to you, Jess. Someone you care about has been hurt. You wouldn't be human if you weren't affected," Helen said. "Do you need to talk about it?"
"No, Harriett needs you more than I do."
"Call my office and make an appointment then." Making sure Jess was looking at her, Helen added, "Soon."
"Harriett's in the den," Jess nodded. "I was just fixing some lunch for us. Can I get you something?"
"Whatever y'all are having," Helen smiled.
Helen was startled at Harriett's appearance, but smiled broadly as she greeted her with a long, warm hug. "How are you feeling, dear?"
"Sore mostly." Harriett shrugged as she sat down gingerly and leaned against the wing arm of the couch.
"That will go away in a few days, and the bruises will fade as well. How are you feeling up here?" she asked, tapping the side of her head.
"Confused," Harriett admitted. "A little afraid. Pissed off. Glad he's dead."
"He was an extremely sick man. I'm surprised he was released."
"Jess...Jess called the State hospital. The doctor there said he had been a model patient."
Helen laughed. "Yeah, well, one of the definitions of 'model' is an imitation of the real thing. I'm sure Wilkes did whatever he thought they expected from a sane person."
Harriett stared at her for a moment. "Interesting idea."
"Depends on how good an actor he was, and how overworked the staff was. But we're not here to discuss Wilkes. How are you sleeping?"
"Pretty good. I've had a few nightmares, but Jess wakes me up before they get too bad."
"Are you taking a sedative?"
"Just the first night. I don't want to become dependent on them. I need to deal with what happened and move on."
"It did happen," Helen said, taking a deep breath. "You were raped, Harriett. There wasn't anything you, or anyone else, could have done to prevent it. Jared Wilkes wasn't going to be stopped."
"He told me he had been watching me. He was in my home, my office. He was at the bar the night you and I were there. He watched Lacey..." Harriett said as her voice caught.
"What were you feeling when he attacked you?"
"Scared. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to kill him," Harriett answered. Tears trickled from her eyes as she looked at Helen. "He...he hurt me, Helen, and he still is. He made sure that he always will. He took away how I see myself. The way other people see me. I'm glad he's dead!"
"I haven't heard you say what he did yet. You need to say the words out loud, Harriett," Helen pressed gently.
Harriett buried her face in her hands and wept. "I can't, Helen."
"Of course you can. They're only words. They can't hurt you."
"He raped me!" Harriett finally sobbed. "Oh, God! He raped me! He took everything away."
Helen moved to wrap her arms around Harriett. "Shhh. He didn't take away your life. You're still the same woman you were before. You didn't cause this, but you have to accept it and learn to deal with it."
"Jess...she hasn't...she won't touch me...not the same way...not since that night," Harriett cried into Helen's shoulder.
"She doesn't want to hurt you," Helen soothed. "She knows you need time to heal."
"But she is hurting me," Harriett said, lifting her tear-stained face. "She sees me as a victim. I'm damaged goods."
"No, she doesn't. She's hurting, too, because she wasn't there to protect you and blames herself."
"Oh, God, Helen, I said terrible things to her."
"Jess loves you, Harriett. She knows you didn't mean what you said." Pausing for a moment, Helen caught Harriett's eyes. "You didn't mean it, did you?"
"Of course not. I apologized, but I don't think she believed me."
A light knock at the den door interrupted them. Helen walked to the door and opened it.
"Lunch is ready," Jess said, holding two plates.
"It looks fabulous," Helen beamed as Jess set up two tables and placed the plates on them.
"Not joining us?" Helen asked.
"My office called and I have to go in." Glancing at Harriett, she said, "The review board needs to see me." Leaning forward she kissed Harriett lightly. "I'll pick up something for dinner, okay?"
Helen watched the interaction between the two women closely. They both seemed unsure of themselves, and it was creating a gulf she wasn't sure they could cross.
WHEN LACEY OPENED the door of Jess's house that evening, Jess handed her a couple of bags while she juggled the rest.
"What's this?" Lacey laughed.
"Dinner, of course. You know your aunt doesn't cook, and I haven't noticed you reading any recipes lately either," Jess teased as she kicked the door shut.
"Aunt Harriett!"
Lacey called. "Jess is home with dinner!"
"I decided we should finally have that Chinese dinner we missed," Jessie said as she went into the living room. Clearing everything from the coffee table, she set the bags down and threw pillows on the floor.
"Should I get plates?" Lacey asked.
Jess looked at Harriett and smiled. Turning to Lacey, she said, "You don't eat Chinese takeout on a plate, sweetheart. You pass the containers around and eat out of them. But," she said dramatically, "you have to be on the floor and absolutely no forks allowed. That's cheating."
"I don't know how to use chopsticks," Lacey laughed. "I'll starve to death."
"Come on, both of you. I don't want to give more than one lesson. It's easy. In fact, you can almost shovel the food in with chopsticks. So pull up a pillow."
There were rounds of laughter as Harriett and Lacey tried to get the hang of using chopsticks, with Lacey cheating occasionally by using her fingers. An hour later, most of the cartons were empty and everyone was full. Lacey excused herself to finish her homework, leaving Jess and Harriett sitting on the living room floor, leaning against the couch.
Taking Harriett's hand and kissing it, Jess said, "I'm sorry if I've seemed a little distant lately, Harriett. I had a lot on my mind, but the good news is that the shooting review board cleared me today."
Harriett reached up and touched Jess's face. "I knew they would."
"Well, I know a pretty good attorney who might have helped me if it hadn't worked out," Jess smiled, pushing herself up. Gathering up the remains of dinner she carried them into the kitchen. As she rinsed out their glasses, Harriett joined her and leaned against the counter. "Thanks for being here when I needed you, Jess. And for saving my life."
As Harriett looked at her, Jess touched her cheek softly and leaned forward to kiss her lightly. As her eyes searched Harriett's face, she could feel the familiar warmth of Harriett's body close to hers, wrapping her closely in her arms. As her hands moved across Harriett's back, their lips met and Jess lost herself in their deepening kiss, the first they had shared since the night that had changed everything between them. There was no hesitancy on Harriett's part as she responded again and again to the demands of Jess's mouth. They clung to one another, neither wanting to break the contact between them. Jess's hand slid down Harriett's side and found its way along her thigh. Feeling her body tense, Jess was snapped from the passion that had engulfed her. Taking Harriett's face in her hands, she brought their kiss to an end.
Redress of Grievances Page 30