The Perfect Murder

by Brenda Novak

  “There’s no need for you to go. I’ll only be a second,” Jane said.

  Wendy wouldn’t acknowledge this, either, but Jane felt Wendy had more of a right to be here than she did. She was exhausted, anyway. She needed to get home, grab a quick bite and fall into bed.

  “You’re going, too?” Maurice complained.

  “It’s been a long day,” she said. “Where’s Kate?”

  “On the computer. She’s researching stem cells for a science paper.”

  “Jane, is that you?” Betty poked her head out of the kitchen.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” Jane said. “Work was crazy.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Of course. Just more of the same.” It was another lie, but she didn’t want to go into detail, especially with Wendy in the room. Why give her sister-in-law the opportunity to gloat over her difficulties? Jane usually believed she deserved that, too, but she felt too raw inside to tolerate it tonight. “I might have more work to do before bed,” she said. “I’m just here to get Kate.”

  “If you’re that pressed for time, we could’ve brought her home,” Betty said. “I thought maybe you’d let me warm you up some dinner.”

  Jane was tempted. Especially when Wendy kissed Betty goodbye and headed out the door. Her three children followed, all but the oldest mumbling hello and goodbye. Wendy had managed to poison Rusty against her. The accusation in his eyes sometimes hurt more than having Wendy ignore her.

  “You’ve already been a big help,” she told her mother-in-law. “And I really appreciate it.”

  Kate must’ve heard her voice because she came down the hall without having to be called. “Hi, Mom! You staying to eat or should I grab my backpack?”

  “Unfortunately, we’ve got to go.”

  “Okay.”

  Jane smiled at Betty and Maurice as she waited. She could tell they had something on their minds, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to discuss anything weighty. She felt too fragile.

  “It wasn’t your fault, you know,” Betty murmured.

  Jane didn’t need to ask what she was talking about. Betty was referring to what had caused the rift between her and Wendy. “It was my fault,” she said.

  Her mother-in-law’s eyes filled with sympathy. “You were going through so much. Can’t you be a little easier on yourself, Jane?”

  “I knew it was wrong.” She just hadn’t been able to stop herself. She’d needed to feel loved and protected, which wasn’t bad in itself. It was putting those needs ahead of Noah’s family that had been unforgivable.

  “It’s in the past, Jane.”

  She gave Betty a slight nod to acknowledge the kindness of that statement but said a silent prayer of relief at Kate’s sudden reappearance. She was feeling guilty again because she hadn’t done any better with Sebastian, even though she’d promised herself she’d keep her desires firmly in check. “You ready, kiddo?”

  Kate slung her backpack over her shoulder. “All set.”

  “Thanks again,” Jane told her in-laws.

  She felt better once they reached the privacy of their own car. As usual, Kate was full of chatter about school, her girlfriends and her teachers—even the cute boy she liked in her second-period class. As Jane embraced their everyday routine, she all but forgot about her uncomfortable run-in with Wendy. But she tensed up again when she pulled into her parking lot and saw Sebastian, leaning against a new rental car—a Pontiac—while talking on his cell phone. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but she was fairly sure she wouldn’t want to discuss it in front of Kate. She needed to keep her daughter separated from the ugliness that had overtaken her work.

  Spotting her immediately, he finished his conversation and hung up. Then he walked over.

  Twenty

  With long dark hair and clear brown eyes, Kate was almost as pretty as her mother. Sebastian couldn’t help smiling as she looked up at him, her expression tinged with surprise when she realized he wasn’t just a friendly stranger.

  Jane seemed less pleased to see him. Sebastian noted the way she stiffened, and understood that she preferred not to allow home and work to mix.

  “Go on in, honey,” she said to Kate as soon as he reached them. “I’ll be right there.”

  Too curious to do what she’d been told, Kate hovered at her mother’s side. “Can’t I wait for you?”

  “I have some business to take care of,” Jane insisted. “Give us a minute.”

  Kate’s narrow shoulders slumped in disappointment. “O-kay,” she said and, with an exaggerated sigh, started past him, but Sebastian stuck out his hand.

  “You must be Kate.”

  Her face brightened. “Yes.”

  “I’m Sebastian Costas, a friend of your mother’s.”

  “A work associate,” Jane clarified.

  Kate placed her small hand in his. “Are you part of The Last Stand?”

  “More or less. For the time being,” he hedged.

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Impressed by the sweetness she put into a saying that’d become so trite, he winked at her. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” He’d been curious about this part of Jane’s life, the part that meant more to her than anything else. “I can already tell you’re going to be a beauty, like your mother.”

  Ducking her head, Kate blushed and mumbled a shy “Thank you.”

  “Go on now,” Jane prompted.

  Her feet dragging, Kate headed to the condo but threw one last glance over her shoulder.

  The caution that lurked in Jane’s eyes eased once her daughter was out of earshot.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked.

  “I never said it would be bad. It was just…pointless.”

  He folded his arms. “I’ll try not to be offended by that.”

  “I don’t want her to know we…we’re anything but what I told her.”

  “Work associates.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why?” he demanded.

  “I told you, I haven’t even been on a date since her father was killed. She might find it—I don’t know—threatening. Frightening.”

  The man who’d found Marcie’s body was out walking his dog. Hoping the sight of Jane wouldn’t draw him over, he lowered his voice. “Unless you plan to spend the rest of your life alone, you’ve got to start somewhere.”

  “Yeah, well, jumping into bed with someone I barely know isn’t the way to do it,” she said. “I think we’re both conscious of that.”

  It was true. Under the circumstances, they had no business getting so intimately involved. So why had he wanted to see her again this soon? “Every relationship begins in a different place,” he said.

  “It doesn’t matter where we began. We both know where this will end.”

  He scowled. “We don’t know anything. Life isn’t something you can script, Jane. It’s full of surprises, and those surprises can change everything.” Look at what had happened to him. Never in a million years would he have guessed he’d walk away from his lucrative and rewarding career to chase down Emily’s husband for killing her and Colton. Never had he thought he’d crave another child, especially with a woman he hardly knew. “Speaking of surprises that can change everything…would you like me to pick up one of those pregnancy tests?”

  “No. I—I’ll deal with it when I’m ready.”

  “It might be better to know.”

  “And it might not. If I miss my period, then we’ll worry.”

  He nodded. “Okay, but I didn’t actually come to talk about pregnancy tests. And, much as I liked getting to see Kate, I didn’t come to meet her, either. I came because the two of you can’t stay here, not by yourselves.”

  She shifted her briefcase to her other hand. “What are you talking about? I live here.”

  “Malcolm associates this place with me. He’ll come back. And if he thinks I care about you, he’ll…” He didn’t finish. There was no need to spell it out. She knew what Malcolm was capa
ble of. She’d witnessed it this morning.

  “He’d be crazy to come back,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “Because he could get caught!”

  “You don’t understand. He’ll take those risks. This thing between him and me—” he shoved a hand through his hair “—it’s become very personal. He’ll do whatever he can to get back at me.”

  “And that includes killing me.”

  “I’m not positive he even knows about you. You weren’t in the car with me when I came here. But he’ll watch this place, search for whatever he can find that might lead him to me.”

  “Why isn’t he scared? Why doesn’t he run, get out of here before he’s arrested?”

  She didn’t know Malcolm the way he did. “He beat the system once. I’m sure he believes he can do it again.”

  “And you’re relieved instead of worried.”

  “Like I said, I want to end this.”

  She glanced around the parking lot as if their surroundings had somehow changed, but she’d felt safe here and didn’t want to let go of that. “How can you be so positive that’s what he wants?”

  With a sigh, Sebastian pulled out the e-mail message he’d printed an hour ago and handed it to her.

  Jane set her briefcase on the pavement and unfolded the paper. “It’s from M.T.”

  He nodded. “Malcolm Turner.”

  “‘It’s you or me, prick,’” she read, then glanced up at him. “He’s calling you out?”

  “He’s telling me this won’t be over until one of us is dead.”

  “Where did this come from? Can we have David trace it?”

  “It would be a waste of time. I’ve already had the ones he sent to Mary traced. He’s using a remote server.”

  She gave the paper back to him. “How is Mary?”

  “Pretty shaken up, but I was able to convince her to take the boys and go to Phoenix for a week or two. They’re staying with her aunt.”

  “He won’t try to follow her there….”

  “Not if I draw his fire, make myself an easier target.”

  “Target?” The blood drained from her face. “You don’t have to do that, Sebastian. The police will handle this.”

  “Like they handled it before?” he asked.

  “We’re talking about David this time. He’ll listen to us. As a matter of fact, I just talked to him. Someone else is going to finish the case that’s been taking up so much of his time. This is now his only priority. Forensic technicians are already processing your car. And Marcie’s body is scheduled to be autopsied tomorrow. Maybe they’ll find some sort of evidence.”

  “They won’t find anything. He was a cop, Jane. He knows what they’ll be looking for.” He scratched his face. “Besides, this will come to a head long before any of that can help.”

  She hugged herself against the cold. “So what do we do?”

  “Tonight? Get some sleep. I think we might need it.”

  “Where?” she asked.

  “At my motel. Unless you want me to stay here. I’m not leaving you alone.”

  Bowing her head, she nodded. “What do I tell her?”

  “That I’m a coworker who’s down on his luck and needs a place to stay.”

  “Just for tonight?”

  “Until I feel comfortable that you’re safe on your own.”

  “That could be a week or more!”

  He grinned at her. “What’s the matter? Afraid you won’t be able to resist me for that long?” He was teasing, trying to cheer her up, but when she answered, he could tell she was absolutely serious.

  “Yes.”

  Why hadn’t he responded? Malcolm knew Sebastian had to have checked his e-mail, had to have received the message. He’d gone to the trouble of taking Latisha to that Internet café. The least Sebastian could do was acknowledge receipt. Malcolm wanted to know how it had affected him, what he’d felt when he found Marcie murdered in his backseat. The silence, not knowing, was driving him mad. He was tempted to cruise past Mary’s house or Sebastian’s condominium complex to see what was going on. But he couldn’t; he had to lie low, until he could devise a way to get close without getting caught.

  He glanced at the clock on his computer. It was after midnight, but he couldn’t sleep. Not with his mind whirring away like this, and not after spending most of the day in bed, catching up on the sleep he’d missed last night.

  Where was Sebastian? Did he live alone in that condo? How long had he been in Sacramento?

  Malcolm had called Constance’s office. She was still in New York. So did that mean Sebastian was now with Mary? Was he making love to her this very minute?

  The thought of them together made Malcolm clench his jaw. It was one thing to turn Mary against him, another to do it so completely that she became Sebastian’s lover. After what he’d done to her in high school—once a cheater, always a cheater—she probably saw it as the ultimate irony to take this sort of revenge. But he didn’t find it the least amusing.

  Using a prepaid cell phone he’d picked up a few hours ago, he called Constance. It was three hours later in New York, which made it almost 3:25 a.m. She didn’t answer, but he left a message. “Your lover boy is sleeping with my old girlfriend. Just thought you might like to know,” he said and hung up. He enjoyed thinking that might hurt her, or get Sebastian in trouble if they were still together, but it wasn’t enough. A few seconds later, he considered calling Sebastian directly. Chances were Sebastian hadn’t changed his number. Why would he?

  “Is something wrong?”

  Latisha had come up behind him. He was allowing her as much freedom as possible tonight, partly to make up for what he’d done to her sister and partly to convince her how good it could be between them if he could trust her. Today he’d taken her to the mall, and bought her some clothes that actually fit and a ring. It wasn’t an expensive ring, but she kept staring at the little diamond as if it was the most beautiful gift she’d ever received.

  He’d told her that he hoped to marry her someday. Women loved that shit. If he could get her to care about him, even a little bit, he wouldn’t have to worry about her trying to get away every second his back was turned. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said. “I just have a lot of nervous energy.”

  “Do you want me to make you something to eat?”

  He pulled her onto his knee so he could fondle her breast. “I’m not hungry.” He grinned at her. “Why don’t we get some cooking oil and go back to the bedroom?”

  “Cooking oil?” she echoed.

  “I think it’s time I gave you a massage.”

  “I’ve never had a massage.”

  “Then you’re in for a treat.”

  She gazed at her ring. “Did you mean what you said earlier?”

  “When I told you how I feel about you?”

  She nodded.

  “Of course.” Letting go of her breast, he took her hand instead. “I know what I did was wrong, Latisha. I know I shouldn’t have forced you and Marcie to come back here with me. And I’m sorry I didn’t treat you right once I got you out here.”

  “So why’d you do it?” she murmured.

  “I was lonely. Sometimes I get so…angry at the world. If you knew what’d happened to me, you’d understand.” He bowed his head as if the weight of the past was too heavy to bear.

  “Tell me,” she said.

  To give her the impression he could barely stand to talk about it, he pretended to choke up. “Someone killed my wife and kid when I was living back east.”

  Sympathy brought her eyebrows together as she bent her head to see into his face. “How?”

  “It was a guy I put in prison, a guy named Sebastian Costas. When he got out, he came for revenge. I’ve been hunting him ever since.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  He rested his forehead on her shoulder. “So am I.”

  “Then you’re not on the force anymore?”

  “That’s why I quit—to chase him down.” He
kissed the back of her hand. “And when I saw you and Marcie in that car, I guess I just…snapped. Other people are out there living normal lives, but here I am without the two people I loved more than anything. I decided to change my situation, to force it to be more like what I wanted.”

  “You can’t force it,” she said, but her words were more earnest than judgmental.

  “I know, and I would’ve realized it if I hadn’t been working on so little sleep. I’d been up all night, following another false lead and wasn’t thinking straight. Then, after I’d taken you, I couldn’t see how I could let you go without winding up in prison myself.” He paused for impact before continuing. “It didn’t seem fair, you know? That I could’ve made my life worse by trying to make it better.” He shook his head. “Until recently, I was so depressed and angry at myself nothing else seemed to matter. I was actually thinking of killing us all. That’s what I had in mind when I came to your room with that gun. But then—” he cupped the right side of her face with one hand “—then there was you.”

  “Me?”

  “You brought me fresh hope, made me want to live a good life again.”

  She seemed confused. “But what about Marcie?”

  “That’s why I let her go, babe. I realized I had to do it, no matter what happened to me. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything else, mostly because it would hurt you.”

  She stared at his fingers as he drew designs on her forearm. “Why didn’t you let me go, too?”

  “Because it would break my heart to lose you. You’re the first person I’ve cared about since my wife.”

  She turned the ring he’d given her around and around on her slim finger. “Does that mean I can go—if I want to?”

  This was a test. Malcolm recognized that immediately and dropped his hand so she’d feel no restraint. “I was hoping you’d stay long enough to let me prove what I’m really like. But if you want to go, I won’t stop you.”

  She stood and glanced at the door.

  Don’t do it, he chanted in his head. If she did, he’d have to drag her back and force her to resume the way they’d been—or kill her. He preferred the more pleasant version of the life he’d begun to envision.