Other than being a cold-blooded killer, he was without any compassion... lacking any devotion or love that he could put his mistress a few hundred feet away so he could leave his wife in bed and slip out to be with the other woman. No true feelings for either woman.
He swiftly grabbed my hair gathered and pinned up at the back of my head and jerked my head close to him. Dang, he was lightning fast.
“I tried to warn you off in the hallway the other night. I guess you need to be taught a lesson in person. Typical rebellious woman – you should have a man keeping you in line.” I kept my mouth shut, this was not the time to counter his antiquated attitude.
His face was twisted into an ugly snarling visage. I had to find a way out of this. I took the heal of my hand from my undamaged arm and punched with all my might at the bridge of his nose. Thank you, self-defense video I had watched online intended to break the nose and inflict pain.
He howled, from pain or rage. Blood was running from his nose. I took my high heels off and had one in each hand with the spiked heels facing him and backed away toward the party where my chances of Johan finding me increased. Wade charged me and I braced myself.
When he got close and grabbed me by the throat I began striking his arms with the sharp heals as hard as I could, then moved to strike at his face. He had to remove a hand to protect his face. With his free hand, he grabbed a shoe, and I struck him in the face with my other heal.
“Freeze, police!” I couldn’t tell if it was Johan or not because I was fading to black for the second time at this resort. Crap. Just crap.
I opened my eyes again and found myself in the spa on a treatment table with people crowded around me.
“How long....?” My throat closed shut. It felt like a metal cheese grater had scraped my throat raw. I remembered Wade choking me and gently felt my throat. Yep, it was still there between my head and shoulders, tender in places. I would have spectacular bruises tomorrow on my throat and face where he struck me.
“Only five minutes or so hun.” Tammy, on my right, said.
Porsche, to my left, explained. “Justin got Johan and they found you fighting with him. Wade was losing that fight anyway from the looks of it. His face is worse for having tangled with you.”
With their help, I sat up on the side of the treatment table and they each hopped up to sit on either side to prop me up. Kylie and Zack were standing just inside the door with anxious looks pinching their faces.
“I’m...fine.” I pointed to my throat, “Hurts a little.” I sounded as bad as it felt.
Justin ran up to the door with a glass of water and a blue ice pack. Both felt so good on my throat. I smiled at him and he beamed.
“Pen...paper,” I whispered and made little writing motions.
Kylie and Zack ran through the spa and returned with some printer paper and a pen.
I wrote out how Wade had confessed he killed Kara because she was going to expose his hypocritical extramarital affair. Then he killed his mistress of several years. Although he didn’t mention it, I think Leona was finished with satisfying his darker desires when he brought his wife along on their anniversary of some sort. When I observed Leona over dinner, she had looked at Wade and his wife more with appraisal than jealousy.
Porsche and Tammy read along as I wrote it out, I handed the paper to the others and they gathered around to read it.
Kylie shook her head and looked ready to cry, tears poised to flow but she held them back. It could have become a maudlin group, but Johan walked in at that moment.
“I need a few minutes with her please.” Everybody deserted me pronto.
I handed him the paper I had started. After reading it, he looked at me with laser eyes.
“Why did you go off on your own? Because that was a serious risk.” Restrained anger reverberated off him.
I wrote on the paper how I was dancing when I saw his buttons and got to thinking, then Wade Lochran looked at me and he could see I had guessed the truth. I didn’t know what Wade might do in a crowd so I wanted to remove that risk and sent Justin to get him.
He read my reply and his shoulders relaxed a bit and I no longer felt he would combust from being mad at me.
“Calling Porsche and mentioning the spa helped. I got there as soon as I could.” His voice was gentle and laced with regret.
I wrote not your fault out on the paper for him. There was a knock on the door and Johan talked with the person for a few moments then turned.
“This is the doctor, I think you two met a few days ago.” Gee, how could I forget?
I lifted a hand and wiggled my fingers in a wave.
Johan let Porsche come in during my exam, but he returned to hear the verdict.
“Her throat is swollen from the choking but should be fine in a few days. The bruise starting around her left eye will look bad, but I don’t think there is any serious damage. Her shoulder took some abuse.” He took a pillowcase off a spa pillow and folded it to use as a sling for my arm.
“I’ll have an actual sling delivered first thing in the morning but use the pillowcase for now. You must wear a sling for at least a week to let all the tendons and muscles heal. Once you get home, your physician will want to do an MRI on the shoulder and an x-ray of your skull and neck because your head has had two blows. He needs to determine what your treatment should involve once you’re home.” He wrote it all down and handed Porsche the directions.
“I’ll make sure she does it.”
I was released to my room and I stood to make the trek when Johan actually picked me up and began carrying me, careful to keep my tender shoulder from door jams. It was kind but made me miss Mason even more. It was the sort of thing he would have done.
Settled into my room and in bed, Porsche got ice and used the towel again for a new cold compress on my shoulder, I still had the original reusable ice pack around my neck. She also dissolved one of the pain pills the doctor had left for me in some water so I could swallow it better.
I slept without any dreams.
Chapter Twenty-four
By morning I was sore all over, which made my throat feel better in comparison. I’d be wearing turtleneck sweaters for a few weeks.
The arm sling was delivered with a note to follow up with my doctor when I got home. Porsche and I opted for breakfast to be delivered to the room. It was a splurge, but I didn’t want the attention and stares I would get if we went down to breakfast. I was positive word had spread that I tangled with the killer... and survived. I apparently kicked his butt since the doctor tended his injuries before seeing me last night. I didn’t feel very victorious though.
I savored the last of Alpine Sun’s food and even stepped out on the balcony to a balmy nine degrees with the sun shining. My breath turned to shimmering tiny crystals in the dry cold. I never understood when visitors would qualify the cold in Colorado with the statement, “but it’s a dry cold.” Nine degrees, dry or humid, is still freaking cold, and we aren’t even going to talk about the negative temperatures the storm had brought. I missed the raccoons, but they were likely back to their dens all snug and warm.
We finally were all packed and in the lobby, standing in line to check out. I wore one of Porsche’s scarves around my neck to hide the bruises. They looked worse this morning than they felt, but I didn’t want to advertise them. I was also reserving talking to reduce irritation and swelling of my larynx and surrounding tissue. I tried to conceal the bruise on my face from Wade’s assault with makeup. I had no idea in sunlight how well it would remain covered.
People seemed conflicted in their response to my presence. Some intentionally made eye contact and smiled or nodded. I believed they were relieved the killer was now in custody and heard I was involved in that outcome. Others avoided eye contact as if I was an unpleasant reminder of the violence that intruded into their world. Then there were the people who glared.
Yes, glared at me. I didn’t realize what a rabid following Wade Lochran had for his editorials an
d personal involvement in organizations. Not until I was part of getting him arrested that is. There had been notes slipped under the door throughout the night and this morning, angry notes defending him and blaming Kara Caine or myself.
I told Porsche to turn them all over to Johan to include with the case files. I figured they would keep in touch, at least for a while. Maybe the long-distance thing could work, who was I to say? It amazed me how the notes manufactured any scenario, many convoluted, to make Wade Lochran the victim rather than a calculating killer simply because he represented what they believe in some fashion.
“Good morning Julienne.” Came from behind me. I turned to find Justin with his parents. He held a hand up, “don’t talk. I know it hurts.” That shy smile was out again. Some young girl was going to melt over him, and probably not that long from now. He had a chivalrous side, he found Johan last night to pass on my message and insisted on backing him up.
I shook hands with his parents and smiled a lot. “Dear, you’re so brave to have fought him.” His mother exclaimed, a hand fluttering to her throat. She made it sound like fighting back against an attacker was somehow unusual.
“Thanks for the dance lessons too. I hope to get to use those moves again soon.” He blushed and I suspected I had already been replaced in his affections. His cell phone dinged and he was lost to texting.
I got a tap on my shoulder and turned... to look into Mason’s eyes.
“Hi, beautiful. I would’ve been here last night, but some roads hadn’t opened yet.” He smiled his million-watt charming smile and placed a quick kiss on my cheek. My heart skipped several beats. Just because I doubted we had a real future didn’t mean the man didn’t make my blood rush.
People were now staring at him and the hum of whispers underscored the entire lobby noise. He glanced around and then looked at me with questions in his eyes.
“Julienne, is this man bothering you?” Justin asked, loud and clear. I heard Porsche snort a laugh.
“Justin, this is my boyfriend...” I croaked, and my hand went to my throat.
Mason opened his mouth, probably to ask if I had a bad cold.
But Porsche cut right to the point. She reached around Mason and removed my scarf to reveal the bruises. “Seems she needed a bodyguard herself.” Her voice was a scalpel cutting deep.
He reached up and his long fingers grazed my neck. His eyes were flashing lightning bolts.
His voice was low and lethal, “Who did this?”
“The man is already in police custody, while you were gone on business, dude.” Justin provided. Oh Justin, don’t poke this bear. But I could’ve kissed him for saying it.
Then Justin shocked me, and likely everybody else in line and some of the people hanging over the upstairs rail watching, too. “Hey, you can’t be her boyfriend.” He held up his cell phone with a celebrity news photo of Mason with the little starlet he had been protecting. “Unless you’re cheating on one of them.” Justin’s eyes narrowed. The whispers increased in intensity.
Porsche leaned between Mason and me, “And that is the crux of the issue between you two.”
Mason looked nervous as he surveyed the crowd. “Can we step into the restaurant and talk?” He said with a tiny hint of pleading. Porsche stayed in line, she was going to pay for the room service and any of her charges. The rest would go on the business card I had provided at check-in.
Kylie escorted us to a small table near the door of Mountain Chalet, her lips pressed tight. I guessed she was providing me with a fast exit if I needed one.
“Kylie, can you fill him in?” My voice was gravel over cement.
“We’ve had two murders and snowed in the whole time. Because of all the emergencies, the police had several of us, led by Julienne, gathering information and gossip from the guests. Last night she figured out who the killer was, and he tried to silence her permanently.” She eyed Mason up and down with a hostile look. “We owe her a lot, she caught the guy before everyone checked out and made an arrest harder.”
Mason had listened to Kylie but never stopped looking into my eyes. I wanted to lose myself in the fire of his gaze, but I knew he wasn’t ready for commitment. If I hadn’t gone through all the emotional wrangling the last several days, I likely would’ve settled for whatever attention he’d give me just to be looked at like that occasionally.
Sitting here, I realized I wanted commitment, but with a man who was ready for me and my life. I may not want children, but I wanted a devoted man to travel the world with me. Maybe that was asking for too much.
Kylie took my order for iced tea to soothe my throat and Mason’s for coffee. I glanced out to the lobby and Porsche and Tammy watched, no doubt ready to intervene.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you. Why didn’t you tell me there were murders? I would’ve found a way to get here.” His voice was tender and heavy with concern.
I shook my head no and tried whispering since it wasn’t as painful, “You couldn’t have made it, and then you’d be worrying.” The bodyguard job was a problem, but I didn’t want him distracted and potentially hurt either.
He started to speak, but I raised my finger to stop him. “I never thought I’d face the killer like that. It just happened that I put the pieces together and he saw it in my eyes. I didn’t pursue the killer, really.” I sipped the tea and it soothed as it flowed down my throat.
“Okay, but what else is going on? I know you’re upset over my working the bodyguard job.” So, he got at least that much.
“You heard what the boy said. To everybody else, you have a girlfriend – whoever hires you as a bodyguard is known as your girl – not me.” I took a deep breath; this next part was the hardest. I wanted to say that Brandon would never let anybody think he was with another, but I wouldn’t throw an old boyfriend in his face. I had even thought of telling him maybe I needed to hire him, but that would be a low blow. He started to speak, and I held up my hand.
“You promised me you weren’t a player anymore. You promised you wanted a serious relationship. I wanted it with you. I like you a lot and it could be more. I’m ready for that, and I want that. I don’t think you’re actually ready for everything that requires. If you’re okay with posing as somebody else’s boyfriend, even for a job, then I don’t think you really want a serious commitment.” I stood up to leave.
“Wait, I want you, I want us. Really I do. Don’t overreact about a job.” He rushed out the words, not realizing how they sounded. But that meant they were probably a true reflection of how he felt.
I was “overreacting” in his eyes, but would he feel the same way if the roles were reversed and I was publicly linked with another man?
“I think you like the idea of a steady girlfriend, so long as you don’t have to alter anything in your life. But that isn’t how committed relationships work.”
“I know I’ve been busy. It won’t always be this way.” He answered. I felt like he wasn’t hearing what I was saying. Sadly, this is exactly how it would probably remain going forward, maybe a spell of time together. But I now knew I wanted more.
“You really need to look at your life and see if you’re ready for the change a devoted and committed relationship will require. Goodbye Mason. Let me know when you’re ready for a genuine relationship.”
This time I walked out. I joined Porsche who drowned out Mason’s parting words with her questions of what did I say and how did he take the news.
If I had known what would happen at this conference, some prescient warning, would I have stayed far away? If I’m honest, I think I would have stayed home.
Thank you for reading!
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed NAILED: Resort to Murder Mystery #2. I really enjoyed writing the characters of Julienne, Porsche, Mason, and the rest of the gang! I hope you enjoyed reading about their adventures, and hope you are looking forward to the next book, SPIKED.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AVERY DANIELS WAS BORN and raised in Colorado, graduated from college with a degree in business administration, and has worked in fortune 500 companies and Department of Defense her entire life. Her most eventful job was apartment management for 352 units. She still resides in Colorado with two brother black cats as her spirited companions. She enjoys scrapbooking and card making, photography, and painting in watercolor and acrylic. She inherited a love for reading from her mother and grandmother and grew up talking about books at the dinner table.
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