by Mary Burton
She was silent for a moment. ‘You miss him.’
He didn’t answer. He clenched his jaw until a muscle in his face pulsed.
‘You miss him.’ This was new ground for them.
His chest tightened. And with as much attitude as he could muster he said, ‘Yeah, I miss him.’
‘And that’s okay.’
He leaned forward and laced his long fingers. The words caught in his tightening chest. ‘It doesn’t feel right.’
‘I’m not here to defend the guy or the choices he made, but when you were young and vulnerable he never failed you, did he?’ She spoke softly.
Jacob tightened his jaw. ‘No.’
She sat back relaxed, as if she’d got what she was after. ‘What are some of the good times you remember with Pete?’
He blew out a breath. ‘How did we end up on this line of conversation? I don’t like it.’
‘I know.’ She smiled. ‘Think of it this way. Today is your last mandatory session.’
He tapped his finger on his thigh. ‘I don’t like talking about Pete.’
‘But you should talk about him.’
Cracking the door to the memories now could easily lead to a flood.
‘Tell me about a happy time for you two.’
Damn. ‘The sooner I dish the sooner I can get back to work?’
‘Yes.’
‘One memory?’
‘I’ll take it.’
He flexed his fingers. He stared at the corner of the coffee table and let his mind drift. It quickly landed on a memory. ‘When I was fifteen, he decided we needed to go camping. I was full of mouth that summer and as usual a handful. So Pete took me camping.’ The corner of his mouth lifted. ‘It was the worst two days of our lives.’
‘How so?’
‘You name it, it went wrong. Neither one of us knew what the hell we were doing. We were city guys. We arrived at this campground late on a Friday. It was hot and we were tired. We tried to pitch this tent that he borrowed. We got it all staked in the ground and then figured out it was upside down. It took another hour to flip it and get it up. Then it started to rain. Buckets of the stuff. After a month-long drought, it rained. The land around the tent flooded and then the tent roof started to leak. Pete grumbled and cussed all night.’
Doubt darkened her eyes. ‘This was a happy memory?’
‘We got up the next morning, dumped the soggy tent into the back of his van, and drove into some small town. We picked the first diner we spotted and ordered breakfast. We were so damn hungry at that point. Best flapjacks I ever had that morning.’ His throat tightened as he recalled the memory. ‘Pete told me that morning that no matter what, he’d never give up on me. He was the first person who ever told me that.’
Dr Christopher let the silence settle as he drew in deep breaths. He collected his emotions, which in an instant had turned raw. ‘It’s okay to mourn that loss, Jacob. There was goodness in Pete Meyers and you have to honor that.’
Jacob flexed his right hand, aware of the stiffness. ‘He was right about the sparring.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘I overdid it last weekend. Pete would have been so pissed if he’d seen my hands after the bout. I’ve got several hairline fractures in my right hand and the doc thinks I’ll end up with bad arthritis if I don’t stop.’
‘Then stop.’
So like a woman. She didn’t get it. ‘Easier said than done.’
‘Why do you love boxing so much?’
‘The rush. The exercise. The excitement when I step into the ring.’
‘And you’re closest to Pete when you’re in the ring.’
He’d never once considered that angle. But she was right. ‘Maybe. Yeah.’
She leaned forward. ‘Honor Pete now by taking care of yourself. That’s what he’d want.’
Emotion choked Jacob’s throat. ‘Why the hell does everyone want me to feel when feeling sucks so bad?’
She smiled. ‘Life’s about the highs and lows. You need both to be balanced.’
The egg timer behind her rang. She turned it off. ‘Looks like our time is up.’
He relaxed back on the sofa. ‘Thank God. So I’ve completed my mandatory visits?’
She looked amused. ‘You are free and clear.’
‘Great.’ He rose but noted the tension that had normally lingered in his lower back had eased. And he could breathe without feeling a weight on his shoulders.
She picked up her appointment book and scanned the pages. ‘See you in two weeks?’
‘You just said I was in the clear.’
She stood, straightening to her five feet two inches. ‘You’re correct. You don’t have to come back. I thought maybe you’d want to.’
Committing to therapy felt extreme. It was the kind of thing wimps and bleeding heart liberals did. And yet he heard himself say, ‘Let me think about it.’
She shrugged and closed the book. ‘Fair enough.’
Jacob left her office, shrugged on his jacket, and crossed to the elevator. He punched the DOWN button, feeling better than he had in a long time. He no longer had the urge to pound on a punching bag. A weight had lifted from his shoulders. Seconds passed and the doors dinged open.
A woman stood on the elevator. Her gaze was lowered, but judging by her body language, she looked as if she’d gone a couple of rounds in a ring. She raised her head and her gaze met his.
It was Kendall Shaw.
‘What the hell happened to you? Are you all right?’
Concern for her in Jacob Warwick’s voice had Kendall Shaw lifting her head. She’d not heard that in a long time.
He was just about the last person she wanted to see. She’d just finished a round of physical therapy on her shoulder and wasn’t in the mood for sparring.
Still Kendall lifted her chin. She refused to show the pain she felt in her arm. ‘My physical therapist is a sadist.’
Confusion darkened his eyes as he stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the lobby. ‘How’s that?’
His natural masculine scent permeated her senses. His presence added energy to the bland elevator car. Both softened the tone of her voice. ‘My shoulder. I was shot. Rehab.’
Jacob frowned as the doors closed. ‘Right.’
A silence settled between them as they both tried to ignore the fact that his foster father had shot and nearly killed her. He flexed his fingers.
Body language spoke volumes and she was a master at reading it. Just like a gypsy read tea leaves, she read people. It was killing Detective Warwick that his foster father had been a killer. As much as the guy could make her blood boil, she couldn’t help but pity him. He’d been blindsided by the revelation.
‘The doctor says I’ll make a full recovery.’ She kept her voice upbeat. She didn’t mind going toe-to-toe with the guy when he was 100 percent but she never took satisfaction kicking someone when he was down.
He met her gaze and searched her face for something. ‘I’m glad.’
When she was around him she always felt alive and on her toes. ‘So what brings you here on a Friday afternoon? A case?’
He hesitated. ‘Yeah.’
‘Care to tell me about it?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Are you always this nosey?’
She laughed. ‘It’s one of the things I do best.’
The doors opened. He blocked them with his hand so they wouldn’t close. He faced her. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘About what?’
‘Pete.’
She understood that this exchange cost him emotionally. ‘Why? You didn’t know what he was doing.’
‘I should have.’
So like a man. ‘Are you a mind reader?’
‘No.’
‘Then stop beating yourself up.’
‘He nearly killed you.’ He ground each word out.
It would have been so easy to wallow in self-pity. She’d refused. ‘I’m a big girl, Detective. And I goaded him on purpose. I wa
nted a story. Wanted a reaction. And I got one. I blame no one but Pete Myers.’
Jacob knitted his brow. He was silent for a long moment. ‘You can let it go just like that?’
‘Yes.’
‘I thought you’d be pissed as hell with me.’
Kendall stepped forward and he dropped his arms so she could pass him into the lobby. She stood straighter and kept all traces of emotion from her voice. ‘Victims wallow. They fret over what they cannot control. And I’m no victim. And if I may say, Detective Warwick, neither are you.’
The sun had set when Allen stood in the shadows watching her emerge from the liquor store near Mercy Hospital. Holding a brown bag close, she cut across the street and stepped around a plume of steam rising from a storm-water drain.
Judith was beautiful. Her dark brown hair was shorter than he’d have liked and the purple and red streaks didn’t suit her, but he could see past all of that. She wore ragged jeans and a leather jacket. She looked more like a bum than the dignified woman he knew she could be.
Despite her faults, he wanted to touch her hair. Was it soft? Did it smell like coconuts, as Ruth’s had?
Allen’s muscles tingled with anticipation. It was hard to hold back when he wanted to run his hands through her hair, to touch her skin and kiss her lips. He wanted her to join the Family.
He’d hoped to wait another week before he brought her to the fold, but the loneliness ate at him day and night. He crossed the street keeping a discreet distance from her.
As she approached the alleyway she paused. She glanced down the cut-through as if weighing the merits of passing down a dark alley to save time.
Squaring her shoulders, she headed forward.
He followed and waited at the lip of the passageway until she was midway down and passed under a dim overhead light. He sprinted down the narrow alley, which smelled of garbage and urine. ‘Judith!’
She didn’t turn around and he realized she was wearing earbuds. She was listening to music. Teetering between annoyance and relief, he hurried closer and reached out to her.
She whirled around. ‘Who the hell are you?’
He stammered, ‘I … thought I knew you.’
Up close he could see her heavily lined eyes and streaked hair more clearly. Both made her look so cheap.
She interpreted his hesitation for weakness. ‘Well you don’t.’
Her perfume triggered a shameful hardening of his body. God, but he wanted to touch her. He lifted his gaze to Judith’s eyes. The set of her jaw telegraphed her distaste. ‘I didn’t mean to be so bold.’
‘Buzz off, freak!’ She turned and started to walk away.
The dismissal made Allen feel like a fumbling boy and it also enraged him. He didn’t deserve this disrespect. He was owed better.
Only a couple of feet separated them but the gap was growing. If he was going to stop her, it had to be now. He quickly closed the gap between them and put his hand firmly on her shoulder this time.
She recoiled and faced him. ‘Don’t touch me.’
From his pocket he pulled a gold chain. It dangled in front of her. For a split second, the quality piece of jewelry caught her eye. She wasn’t used to pretty things. ‘This is for you.’
‘Nice.’
‘Women always like pretty things, don’t they?’
Her gaze narrowed as she stared at him. ‘Who are you?’
His hand shot out with lightning quickness. He grabbed her hand and wrenched it around her back as he pushed his other hand over her mouth. Using his body weight, he shoved her against the wall. Before she could scream he jabbed his forearm against her throat and held her in place. ‘You’re not going to leave me again.’
Terror blazed in her eyes. She kicked him and clawed at his hands, her actions unpinning her from the wall. ‘Who are you, you crazy fucker?’
Her chest rose and fell quickly under him and he wanted to touch her, to do things to her that were so wrong. Angry, he slammed her back against the brick wall a second time. ‘Temptress.’
He fumbled in his pocket for a hypodermic and stabbed it into her chest. He pressed the liquid into her system. She collapsed almost immediately.
Glancing from left to right, he made sure no one had seen; then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulled her upright, and dragged her down the alley. To anyone who glanced at them it would appear he was helping her to his truck.
His truck was parked at the lip of the alley. He dragged her to the passenger door, opened it, and gently set her upright in the seat. He clicked her seat belt over her body so she wouldn’t slump forward.
When Allen slid behind the wheel of the truck, his heart raced and sweat dampened his shirt. But he felt good. He had Judith. And soon she’d join the Family.
Chapter Seven
Saturday, January 12, 8:00 A.M.
Jacob leaned against the counter in the break room. He cradled a cup of coffee in his hands. He’d just popped two aspirin and wasn’t in a good mood.
‘You look like shit,’ Zack said as he moved into the room and poured himself a cup of coffee. ‘You’ve been here all night?’
‘Yeah. The tapes from the store’s parking lot arrived. I decided to review them.’
Zack frowned over his coffee cup. ‘Why didn’t you call me?’
‘No sense ruining both our evenings. Besides, you and Lindsay don’t get much downtime.’
A hint of a smile reached Zack’s eyes. ‘It was nice just being with her.’ He sipped his coffee. ‘So what did you find?’
‘It took a while but I found the sixty-second bit of footage we needed.’
Zack leaned forward. ‘You saw Jackie on the footage?’
He nodded. ‘Ten twenty-one p.m. Friday a week ago. Come into the conference room and see the tape.’
They moved down the carpeted hallway and pushed through the double doors of the conference room. The walls were covered with dry-erase boards and a large map of the county. A U-shaped conference table faced the front of the room, where a TV and VCR sat on a metal stand.
Jacob sipped his coffee and picked up the TV/VCR remote.
Zack leaned against the conference table, crossed his ankles, and sipped his coffee. ‘Did you get a clean picture?’
‘See for yourself.’ Jacob hit PLAY.
The grainy, color image showed Jackie White approaching her car with a cart full of groceries. She loaded the first three bags without incident but the fourth split at the bottom as she lifted it. The cans rolled away from her.
‘Enter our suspect,’ Jacob said.
A hooded figure emerged out of the shadows and started collecting the cans. He approached Jackie with the cans cradled in his arms.
‘He startles her,’ Jacob said. ‘And she tries to take the cans from him.’
Zack frowned as the scene unfolded. ‘But Mr Helpful refuses. He wants to put them in her car. Probably accuses her of being too proud and that she should accept help. Standard predator bullshit.’
Jacob sipped his coffee. ‘Yeah. And it works. She lets him put the cans in the car.’
Zack leaned forward. ‘The guy could be her husband.’
‘He’s the right build.’
They both watched the film. The man convinced Jackie to move, taking her out of the camera’s view. She never returned into view but he did. He locked and closed her car door.
Jacob’s jaw tensed. ‘He must have had a car waiting.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Let’s have that chat with White now.’
The drive to White’s town house took twenty minutes. His paper lay on the stoop in front of the door. Jacob picked it up and knocked on the door. When no one answered he knocked again.
The door snapped open and White glared at him. He didn’t look broken, as he had on Thursday. Now he looked haggard. Dark stubble covered his chin and the shirttail of his wrinkled cable TV uniform hung loose.
‘What do you want?’ he snapped.
‘We’d like to talk to y
ou.’ Jacob took a bit of satisfaction knowing he wasn’t the only one who’d not gotten much sleep last night.
‘About?’ White prodded.
‘Jackie White,’ Jacob said.
The two detectives stared at him. The challenge in Zack’s gaze left no room for argument. White let them come inside and closed the door. ‘Have you found Jackie’s killer?’
Zack folded his arms over his chest. ‘We’re working on it.’
White kept his hands at his sides, his fists clenched. ‘So what did you find?’
‘Tell me again where you were this past weekend?’
‘I was in Bath County hunting. I left Friday and came back late Monday.’
‘How far is Bath County from here?’
‘Three hours.’
Jacob nodded. ‘It can be done in two hours if you’re pushing it.’
‘Well, there’d have been no ‘pushing it’ this past weekend because of the snow on Afton Mountain.’ The mountain was just west of Charlottesville and in bad weather was the first stretch of the interstate to become impassible.
Jacob glanced at his notes as if reading something important. ‘What time did you arrive?’
‘I don’t know. Late.’
‘How about a time?’
White sighed. ‘I had a flat tire outside of Staunton and had to change it. I didn’t get to the cabin until about one.’
‘Where did you fix the tire?’
‘I don’t remember. Like I said, a station in Staunton.’
White swallowed and leaned forward. ‘I didn’t kill my wife.’
‘We didn’t say you did,’ Jacob said.
White’s eyes were wild with grief and fury. ‘Then why all the questions?’
Zack unfolded his arms, ready to react if he had to. ‘Routine.’
Jacob thought about the tape. Jackie had vanished at 10:21 P.M. on Friday. Which would have given White enough time to stash her and make it to Bath by one. ‘Can you give us the names of the men you hunted with so they can confirm when you arrived?’