The Perfect Murder

by Brenda Novak

  The front door opened and David strode purposefully toward them. “Thanks for the meal,” he said as Jane handed him the sack containing the hamburger and fries they’d picked up on the way.

  “What’re you finding?” she asked. “Anything that might help?”

  “Actually, there’s a lot here, so much it’ll take a while to process. Hair fibers, blood on the carpet, mattresses where the girls probably slept, metal stakes in the floor where they were restrained, alcohol, sleeping pills.”

  “He didn’t have time to clean up,” Jane mused.

  “He barely had time to pack an overnight bag.”

  Dark clouds rolled across the sun and the temperature plunged. She pulled her coat closed. “So…if we can find him, there should be more than enough evidence to convict him.”

  “Along with Latisha’s testimony, I should think so.”

  Sebastian was staring at the house, wondering what Malcolm had been thinking whenever he approached the front door. This was no kind of trade, not for the life he’d once had. Malcolm had once owned a comfortable home, had a respectable job and parents and siblings who seemed like decent folks, a lovely wife, and the opportunity to make a real difference as a parent to a very good kid. His kid.

  “What an idiot….”

  Jane and David glanced his way. “Excuse me?” David said.

  “After what he had in Jersey, he’s willing to settle for this dump?”

  “Used to be a dairy farm,” David explained. “The original owner sold off the stock shortly after his wife died, when he got too old to run the place. It was paid for and he’d spent fifty years here, so he stayed until he died, five years ago. His kids inherited, of course, but they’re spread out across the country. One’s even in Japan, teaching English. No one wanted to move here. None of them could afford to bring the farm back. They’ve been trying to sell it ever since but in the current market it’s not easy to sell something like this. I’m sure they rented it to Malcolm pretty cheap.”

  “Free wouldn’t be cheap enough,” Sebastian muttered.

  “You have to admit it’d be perfect for someone who enjoys his privacy,” Jane said.

  Sebastian glowered at what he saw. “Or needed that privacy to commit unconscionable acts.”

  “There’s that.” David was eating his burger as if he hadn’t seen a meal in a while—or didn’t have the time to eat this one.

  “Did you find his gun?” Sebastian asked.

  “No,” David replied between mouthfuls. “We haven’t come across any weapons at all, unless you count kitchen knives.”

  It would’ve been good if he’d left his gun behind so they could match it with the ballistics on the bullet from Latisha’s arm, but Malcolm wasn’t that stupid. “What about his police uniform, his badge?”

  “That’s gone, too.”

  Of course Malcolm would take those things with him. They were the symbols of his power, the accoutrements of his fantasy.

  “Any idea where he might’ve gone?” Jane asked.

  “He could be staying with a friend or at a motel,” David mused.

  “That means he could be anywhere,” Sebastian said.

  “We found something that tells us he probably hasn’t left the area.”

  David swallowed his last bite and smashed the sack. “Just a minute.”

  Jane sent Sebastian a curious glance. “What do you suppose it is?”

  “You got me,” he said.

  Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long for the answer. David came back a couple of minutes later, wearing surgical gloves and holding a piece of paper. “I can’t let you touch it, but you can see it,” he told them and turned it so they could read what had been written with a black felt-tip marker.

  I’m coming for you, Sebastian, it said. Don’t think I won’t.

  Visions of Noah lying dead in the bed she’d shared with Oliver floated to Jane’s consciousness as Sebastian drove them back to town. Would she someday find Sebastian in his own blood?

  The thought made her stomach churn with acid. How could she protect him? How could she make sure nothing like that ever happened?

  “You need to go home,” she blurted.

  He steered with one arm slung over the wheel. “You mean New York?”

  “Yes.”

  “Malcolm won’t hurt me, Jane.”

  “You don’t know that. Noah was bigger and stronger than Oliver. And you should’ve seen what Oliver did to him…” Closing her eyes, she tried to wipe the revolting scene from her mind. “I’m sure he never dreamed Oliver could overpower him. He thought I was crazy for even telling him to be careful.”

  “This is different.” Although he was arguing with her, his tone indicated that he understood what she was feeling. “Malcolm isn’t my brother so I’m not about to give him the benefit of the doubt. And I’m well aware that he’s dangerous. No one has to convince me of that.”

  “He followed you from Mary’s. He knows where the condo is.”

  “It’s in your name.”

  “He could connect us.”

  “How?”

  There wasn’t anyone who knew her who also knew Malcolm, but she didn’t like taking chances. Not with Sebastian’s life. I’m coming for you…Those words were so ominous, so…purposeful. “He could be watching my condo. Maybe he’s already seen us come home. Even if he hasn’t, why couldn’t he knock on a neighbor’s door and ask a few questions? What if he stumbles on Bob walking his dog, for instance? Bob knows your name, knows you’ve been staying at my place.”

  Sebastian let his breath go in a long sigh, but didn’t speak. Was she getting through to him? Unable to tell, she reached for his arm. “What do you say?”

  “I can’t leave you there alone, just in case he has associated the two of us.” Lines appeared on his forehead. “But if he hasn’t made the connection, I don’t want to draw him to your place, either. I’m not sure what to do.”

  “Will you let me decide?”

  “No. You’d put me on the first plane back east.”

  She said nothing.

  “That’s not the answer, Jane. This thing between Malcolm and me—it has to end sometime.”

  “It’s the way it might end that bothers me.” She’d lost enough. She couldn’t stand losing the one man who made her feel hopeful again. There were moments when she thought about having another baby, and those moments made her think that maybe it wasn’t too late to start over, to offer Kate more than she’d had, to build a better life, one less traumatized by the past.

  “You trust David, don’t you?” he said.

  She scowled. He was changing tactics on her. “Of course I trust David. He’s an excellent detective. But that’s beside the point.”

  “Jane, if Malcolm really wants to kill me, running away won’t solve the problem.” He pulled into a drugstore.

  “What are we doing?” she asked as he parked. “Why are we stopping here?”

  “We need to buy something.”

  “Gum? Film? Shaving cream?”

  He opened his door and got out. “A pregnancy test.”

  Jane’s hand froze on the latch. She wasn’t ready to discover whether or not they had other big decisions to make. It felt as if she still had the option of sending Sebastian away, of going on with her life as though this week had never occurred. But if she took a pregnancy test and that pregnancy test was positive…what would they do? How would they handle it? “I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

  “You can wait here if you’d like.”

  “Sebastian—”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  She remained in the car, trying to imagine how she’d feel if she turned out to be pregnant. That was easy. She’d be scared. She was in her mid-forties. There were significant risks. And she’d never expected to have another child. But what if the test was negative?

  Part of her would be disappointed; she couldn’t deny that.

  He held a small brown paper bag when
he returned. He tossed it between them as he got in, and Jane eyed it as if it contained a snake. “Sebastian—”

  “If you’re not pregnant, we’ll start using birth control,” he said. “If you are, there’ll be no need.”

  “You won’t accept my advice and head back to New York no matter what it says. Why should I take it?” she countered.

  “So I’ll know whether to stop at my motel and get those condoms before I drive you home. It’ll save you from having to deal with that Shield.” Starting the car, he backed out of the parking space. “If we’re going to deliver on our promise to take Kate ice-skating, we don’t have much time.”

  He was worried about following through on a promise to her daughter? That was something she hadn’t experienced in years—a pleasant something. “We just…we won’t do it again,” she said. “If we stay away from each other, we won’t need birth control. And we won’t need to know whether or not I’m pregnant. Not right away.”

  He gave her a look that told her he wasn’t about to let her out of this. “I don’t think staying away from each other is very realistic, do you?”

  She rubbed her face. “Probably not,” she sighed.

  He drove across the street to the gas station. “There’s the bathroom,” he said and handed her the bag.

  Butterflies swirled in Sebastian’s stomach for the first time since he could remember. Was it really possible that in nine months he’d become a father again? So much had changed. He’d lost Emily and Colton and Constance and all the momentum he’d achieved with his work. He no longer had the money he once did. He couldn’t believe he was even thinking about having another child, let alone pacing outside a gas-station restroom in California while the woman he’d been sleeping with took a pregnancy test.

  “Jane?” he called when he couldn’t wait anymore.

  She didn’t answer, so he tapped on the door. “Hey! What does it say?”

  Again, no answer. Did that mean what he thought it might? Or was it just that she hadn’t finished or couldn’t hear him? “Jane?” he called again.

  Finally, the little sign that read Occupied disappeared as she turned the lock. But she didn’t come out. She opened the door a few inches and peered through the crack.

  “What’d it say?”

  Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. “It’s negative.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She passed him the test strip. He didn’t know what gray meant, but he didn’t question it. He stared at it for a second; then he reached around to put it on the sink. “That’s good, right?”

  “I guess so. But despite everything, in a way, I’m disappointed.”

  He understood because in a way he was, too. Even with the risks involved. Regardless of what anyone watching from the gas pumps might think if they saw him, Sebastian stepped into the woman’s restroom and closed the door so he could draw her into his arms and kiss her gently. “It’s okay.”

  “I know. It’s just…this isn’t only about whether or not we’re having a baby.”

  He tilted up her chin. “Then what’s it about?”

  “You.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes.” Her voice dropped. “I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  Laughing at the hopelessness in her words, he kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m sorry that upsets you.”

  “You live in New York!”

  “You’re the one who keeps trying to send me back!”

  “I still want you to go, if it’ll keep you safe.”

  Feelings he hadn’t experienced since before Colton’s death began to simmer inside Sebastian, chasing all the negative events into the background. He was suddenly stronger, more like himself, so much happier. “I’m not going back. I’m staying here, with you.”

  “But it’s important that you go—at least until the police capture Malcolm.”

  “Trust me to take care of myself,” he said. “Trust me to take care of you and Kate.”

  “It’s him I don’t trust,” she argued.

  “We’ll come out of this. We’ll be fine.”

  She laid her head on his shoulder. “How would you have reacted if there was a baby?” she asked. “Would it have scared you away?”

  What kind of fickle asshole did she think he was? “Not at all. I’m forty-five, Jane, not twenty-five. I know what a baby means. I said I’d be happy, and that hasn’t changed. I would’ve been okay with it, as long as you were.”

  “And how does the fact that there is no baby change the situation?” Her head came up. She was expecting him to tell her why he wasn’t ready for a permanent relationship. He could tell. But that wasn’t what he had to say.

  Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her again. “It doesn’t. I still want you.”

  “You’re serious,” she said, searching his face.

  “Completely.”

  She smiled. Then she hugged him tighter and it was her turn to kiss him. She didn’t ask any more questions. Apparently she was willing to let it go at that, and he was glad. He had no idea what he’d do about his job in New York, if he’d relocate or she would, if she’d mind that he’d spent all his money chasing Malcolm and would need time to rebuild. It was too soon to discuss any of the practical issues of how they’d be together. But they knew they wanted to be together. And for now, that was enough.

  Jane could hardly believe that she’d found another man she cared about. Sometimes she’d look up to find Sebastian watching her with such tenderness that a warm tingle would go through her. This was what she’d been missing. This…contentment. She’d never really had it, certainly not with Oliver. He’d always been too selfish. Sebastian was different, mature, confident, willing to care for others. What she felt for him was so wonderful it frightened her—because she was afraid it wouldn’t last. Good things seldom did. She had a bone-deep conviction that she wasn’t meant to be so happy, didn’t deserve it. And if she ever forgot that, she didn’t have to go far to be reminded. She knew how Wendy would react to the news….

  “Mom, you watching?” Kate called.

  “You’re doing great, honey!” Jane smiled and waved at her daughter, circling the ice with Sebastian. Although Jane had gone skating quite often in her early teens, it was Kate’s first time. She seemed a bit shaky but she was enjoying herself…and enjoying all the attention Sebastian was lavishing on her.

  Jane went to the restroom, which was why she’d gotten off the ice. She was on her way back to the rink when her cell phone rang. It’d been so long since she’d skated that she wasn’t much steadier than Kate was, so she answered before stepping onto the ice.

  Caller ID showed it was Skye. “Hello?”

  “Jane? Hi!”

  Leaning against the railing, Jane searched the crowd for Sebastian and Kate. “How are you?”

  “Better. We’ve found the child we were looking for.”

  “That’s wonderful news! How’d you do it?”

  “A relative of the father, a cousin. They got into an argument, so the cousin finally came forward.”

  “What was the argument about?”

  “Dishes,” she said with a laugh. “They were living together, and it wasn’t working out too well.”

  “Lucky for you. So are you coming home soon?”

  “We’re flying out tomorrow. I can’t wait. I’m so homesick for my family I can’t stand it.”

  “I know they’ll be glad to see you.”

  “How’s everything going?”

  Kate took a spill, but it wasn’t a hard fall and Sebastian helped her up. “At the office?” she asked.

  “At home, too. It seems like forever since we’ve had a chance to talk.”

  Jane considered everything she had to tell. Where did she start? The case? No, she’d save that until Skye got home. She didn’t want to focus on Malcolm; she was more interested in talking about the positive developments in her life. “I’ve met someone,” she said.

  “You have? Wow, this i
s a first. I haven’t even been able to get you to go out on a date. Who is it?” The excitement in Skye’s voice brought a smile to Jane’s face.

  “An investment banker from New York.”

  “Where’d you meet him?”

  “At the office.”

  “He’s a client?”

  “More of a…volunteer.”

  “He sounds interesting.”

  “He’s…special.”

  “Special is good. It’s better than I ever expected to hear from you. How long have you known him?” she asked.

  “Only a week. But we’ve spent nearly every minute together.”

  “No kidding? Have you introduced him to Kate?”

  Kate was the litmus test, and Skye knew it. “Yes. We’re ice-skating right now.”

  “Damn, why does everything happen when I leave?” she complained with a laugh. “I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

  “When you’re back.”

  “We’ll be there on Monday. I doubt we’ll be in the office much for the first few days, probably just long enough to go through our messages, but at least we’ll get to say hello. I was thinking it might be smart to have a short meeting. Sheridan said she’d bring her baby so we could see him again, and we can get caught up and sort of plan out the week.”

  “I’ll be there. What time?”

  “How about four o’clock?”

  “Four it is. I’ll see you then. Have a safe—”

  “Jane?” she cut in.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s great to hear you sound so happy.”

  “It’s great to feel this happy,” she said and hung up just as Sebastian and Kate came to a stop on the rink in front of her.

  “Hey, you getting back on?” he asked.

  “Of course.”

  They waited for her at the opening, each holding out a hand to help her onto the ice. “Who were you talking to, Mama?” Kate asked.

  “Skye.”

  Sebastian steadied her as they started off. “She still out of town?”

  “She’s coming home tomorrow.”

  “Are you going to tell her you worked on your first case?” Kate asked.

  “I will. I wish I could also tell her we have the bad guy behind bars, but…”