by Joanna Wayne
“If he obviously robbed Jill Trotter, why do you suppose he didn’t admit to killing her like he did the others?” Joni asked.
“Apparently, she didn’t meet his bragging right standards for age and beauty. You did. He’s already admitted as much, said he’d already targeted you for his next victim. Then he decided he’d best clear out of the area and return when the police backed off.”
Joni trembled, and Leif slipped his arm around her to steady her. Had he not talked her into going with him to the condo, she would have been home alone the day The Hunter left the note. Her raped and battered body would have been left in the wooded area for some hunter to find.
An acidic burn attacked the lining of his stomach.
“But you didn’t know that before his confession. I still don’t understand why you were so sure he was after me that you set a trap for him here,” Joni said.
“We were counting on him following his established patterns. Leaving scribbled and confusing warning notes before he kills is something he’s done in the last three murders before Jill Trotter, a fact we hadn’t released to the press. But your worries are over. The Hunter is behind bars.”
“Did he send a note to Jill?” Leif questioned.
“Not that we’ve found yet. But she could have destroyed it without reporting it. After all, before her death, Oak Grove was a quiet, almost crime-free oasis.”
The officers thanked Joni again for her cooperation and then left. Joni held on to the back of the sofa, as if still in shock. “Can you believe it? Jill’s killer really was The Hunter, and now he’s behind bars. The worst is over. No one else will die at his hands.”
Leif should be just as relieved, but he couldn’t shed that last nagging fear that this wasn’t completely wrapped up. But then he was always suspicious of things that seemed too good to be true.
Speaking of which...
“Now where were we when we were interrupted by the bearers of good news?”
“I think you were about to pick me up and carry me to bed,” Joni said.
He was certain she was right.
* * *
JONI LAY AWAKE long after the passion was spent, drenched in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She wasn’t a virgin, but making love with Leif was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
Every touch, every kiss, every murmured word of endearment had been exquisitely delicious. And there had been a multitude of touches, kisses, thrusts, throbs and sexual exploration.
Leif had devoured her with his lips, his tongue, his fingers, his throbbing desire. Her primal hunger had never been so sated, her body so satisfied.
But that wouldn’t last for long. Her need for him was already growing again.
She rolled to her side and slid her right leg over his. Her knee brushed the dampness where she’d pleasured him. He moaned and turned and pulled her on top of him without opening his eyes. She could feel his growing erection beneath her.
“You’re going to kill me, woman.”
“But you’ll die with a smile on your face.”
And then his lips were on hers and the thrill of him was thrumming though every vein in her body again.
* * *
THERE WAS A chill to the air when Leif left the big house with R.J. He didn’t expect anything to come of their morning walk, but if having this conversation with R.J. pleased Joni, it was worth it.
At that point if she’d urged Leif to climb in the saddle atop a bucking bull, he might have done that, as well. The ache in his thighs was a painful but sweet reminder of just how crazy about her he was.
Travis would never understand Leif’s falling so fast. Hell, he didn’t understand it himself. All he knew was that being with Joni made him happier than he’d ever been in his life.
Making a life together might be a little more difficult. Once he was a partner in the firm, he’d be expected to get involved in even more charitable and social events. It was part of the image they liked to portray.
“I’ve been thinking about that will of mine,” R.J. said.
Here we go again with the manipulation, Leif thought. Still he slowed his pace so that R.J. could catch up with him.
“I guess I wasn’t thinking it all through when I made the guidelines.”
“It’s your will,” Leif said. “Your call.”
“I know, and it works out great for Adam. He’s taken to ranching like a fiddle player to a Texas roadhouse band. But you’ve got a career and you’re awful damn good at what you do from what I hear.”
“I like to think so.”
“I guess I could make an exception with the requirement that states you have to actually work on the ranch to be included in the will.”
“Don’t do that on my account.”
“I’m just saying, I could change it, if I decided to. That’s all. Maybe I’d just expect someone like you with a full-time career to spend a certain number of weekends here a year. You could always build your own place the way Adam did.”
“I’m not planning to build on the ranch.”
“But if you did, you’d be close enough that Effie could enjoy the horses and see what it’s like taking care of the animals. She’s said she wants to be an equine vet.”
“You don’t have to live on a ranch to be a vet.”
“No, but it helps. Besides, she could get a break from the city with all its pollution, traffic and crime. None of that can be good for a kid or a teenager.”
“Effie definitely likes it out here.” In fairness, he had to give R.J. that. But it wasn’t the conversation he’d come out there to have. It was time for him to take control.
“You know what troubles me about this conversation, R.J.?”
“No, but judging from that tone I s’pect you’re about to lay it on me.”
“Where was all this worry about kids and teenagers back when Mother died? Do you have any idea what it was like for Travis and me when we had no living relatives to take us in?”
“I figure it was rough.”
“Rough? Not getting a bike for Christmas is rough. Being torn away from the only family you know and carried off screaming to live with strangers who mistreat you, that’s a living hell. Travis was just a little kid when he had to face that, only six years old.
“So don’t talk to me now about how I should raise Effie on a ranch or how I’m depriving her of riding a horse every day. I’ve had pimples I treated better than you did us.”
“Reckon you can’t say it much plainer than that,” R.J. said.
“Sometimes a little plain talk is called for.”
“I agree. I don’t expect anything I say to make much difference to you, Leif. You made up your mind a long time ago about me. Some, maybe most, of the anger and resentment you feel toward me is deserved.
“But I didn’t know about your mother dying until you boys were both grown, and that’s a fact. She told me to stay out of her life and I honored her wishes.”
“You were notified of her death,” Leif said. “Travis and I were told you were coming.”
“I might have been notified, but I never got the message. I’m not proud of it, but I was drinking heavy at the time, really heavy. I got drunk as a skunk one night and like the fool I was, I got behind the wheel of my truck.”
R.J. stopped, waited a moment and then started walking again, this time even slower than before. “Luckily I didn’t kill nobody else, but I durn near killed myself. Might have been best if I had. Anyway, I ran the truck into a steel bridge guard. Totaled the truck, messed up my right knee and hit my head so hard I was in a coma for weeks.”
Leif knew what was coming next, but he let R.J. finish his spiel about how all that had happened at the same time his mother was dying.
“I was a rotten father, Leif. I know that. Bu
t I can’t change the past. All I can do is try to be a better man now. I can take care of the apologies. The forgiving is up to you.”
When they reached the horse barn, they stepped inside to get out of the blustery wind.
“You can head back to the house whenever you want,” R.J. said. “I’d like to spend some time with Miss Dazzler, but I figure Hadley and Joni will be getting back from the Hilbert’s anytime now. They just went over to drop off some fried pies. Since Nora Hilbert had that heart attack, she don’t do much baking and Leon loves sweets.”
R.J. swayed and had to reach for a post to keep his balance. He stood there for at least a minute, head down, his flesh pasty. Then evidently the woozy spell passed and he walked over to his favorite filly.
“I’ll stay and walk back with you,” Leif said.
“Then you might as well grab a pitchfork and give the horses some fresh hay. They need a little Thanksgiving, too.”
Leif went to work. The exercise felt good, far less stressful then preparing for a trial.
He could see how a man could get used to this.
* * *
JOEY PULLED THROUGH the gate at the Dry Gulch Ranch a few minutes after Joni and Leif.
He’d followed them to the ranch, keeping far enough away that they wouldn’t notice. He kept the same slow pace now, giving them time to park and go inside before he drove up and surprised them.
Not that he’d be stupid enough to teach her some manners with the house full of people. He just wanted to see if Joni was drooling all over the attorney, lusting after his money. She hadn’t taken her old truck out once since she’d hooked up with Leif Dalton and his expensive sports car.
She’d been just starting to notice Joey when Leif showed up in Oak Grove. Joey should have known that no matter how nice Joni seemed, she was just like every other bitch. One smell of money and they were gone.
She really pissed him off. He could feel the anger building, pushing against his skull. He pulled off to the side of the road and stopped the car. After opening the glove compartment quickly, he reached in for his pills.
They weren’t there. He must have forgotten to put them in the car. It was too late to go back now. He’d just have to sit there a minute and try to cool off.
Once he lost his temper completely, it was too late.
Chapter Eighteen
Joni set the last plate on the table and stood back to admire her work. R.J. had told her to make herself at home and that was exactly what she’d done.
She’d arranged the flatware, plates, glasses and the only set of cotton napkins she could find in R.J.’s kitchen. She’d even made a centerpiece of holly, pinecones, nuts and the two scented pillar candles she’d picked up at the gift shop in Oak Grove last week.
She’d meant them to be a hostess gift, but adding them to the arrangement was an even better idea. Now it was time for a coffee break and to sit and think about what a fantastic Thanksgiving this was turning out to be.
The doorbell rang just as she filled her cup. Taking it with her, she hurried to the front door. Expecting Effie or a neighbor, she swung it open without checking to see who was there.
“Joey.”
“Yeah. You’re looking great,” he said. “Am I interrupting dinner already?”
“No, I’m here early.” That didn’t explain why he was there. “Did R.J. invite you for dinner?”
“No, I was just driving around and thought I’d pop in and wish him a happy Thanksgiving. Is he here?”
“He and Leif walked down to the horse barn for a few minutes, but they’ll be back soon.”
“Then I’ll just say hello to Mattie Mae and be on my way.”
“I’m afraid she’s not here, either. Her grandson picked her up yesterday and drove her to Austin to be with the rest of the family for a long weekend.”
“Good for her. She needs to get out and go somewhere, but she’s sure good company for R.J.”
“I didn’t realize you knew the Daltons so well,” Joni said.
“Sure. I keep R.J.’s four-wheelers running for him. I even did some engine work on his tractor the other day. I’m a man of many talents.”
Including a few that had sent him to jail. Before she’d known about that she was perfectly at ease with Joey. Now she was downright nervous around him. Once she told R.J. the truth about him, he wouldn’t want him around, either.
“I was setting the table,” she said. “There’s still a lot to do and I’m the only one here, so I’d best get busy.”
“Then what about taking a ride with me later? There’s a real pretty stretch of back roads toward Austin. Lots of bigtooth maples. This time of the year, they look like they’re on fire. Thanksgiving is always the best time for Texas foliage.”
“I’m sorry, Joey. I can’t today. I already have plans.”
“With Leif Dalton?”
She didn’t like the change in his tone when he said Leif’s name. “I really have to go, Joey.”
She started to close the door. Joey stopped it from closing with a heavy booted foot.
“You could invite me in.”
She shook her head. “You need to go.”
“And leave you here alone? I don’t think so.” He pushed his way inside. “You’re going for that ride with me now, Joni. You’re going to walk to the truck with me and get in without making a scene. Do you understand me?”
Her heart pounded against her chest. “You don’t want to do this, Joey. Leif will be back any second.”
“You need a real man, Joni. Not that pansy attorney you’re so infatuated with. Didn’t you hear what they said about him on the news? He helps killers go free.”
Joey tugged on her sweater, pinching her right nipple until the pain made her eyes water.
“Take your hands off of me, Joey Markham. You have no right to—”
He slapped her across the face with his left hand. “I have all the rights. This gives it to me.” He waved a tiny black pistol at her. “Now walk out that door quietly and get in my truck.”
“Put the gun away, Joey. You’ve been to prison before. You don’t want to go back.”
“I guess Mr. Pretty Boy Attorney told you all about my past. Well, here’s something he didn’t tell you, sweetheart. You won’t be the first woman I’ve killed.”
He ground the barrel of the pistol into her side as he shoved her toward the door. If she got in that truck with him, she might never come back alive. There was a lot less chance he’d kill her here, where people would hear the gunshot and come running to help her.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. I know who you are, Joey. I know you’re Phillip Trotter’s son. I know you killed him. Did you kill his wife, too?”
He leaned in so close, her skin crawled. “The Hunter killed her. Didn’t you hear? Jill killed Phillip and The Hunter killed her. Now do you play nice or play dead?”
The back door opened and slammed shut again, almost as if the wind had caught it.
Joey jumped and turned to see who’d come in.
Joni broke away and made a run for the stairs. He pounced on her, jerking her to the floor before she reached the landing.
Only the man looking down at her now was not the friendly, flirty Joey she knew from Abe’s Garage. The veins in his neck were so extended they looked as if they were about to burst through the skin. His face was bloodred, his nostrils flaring like an angry bull’s.
Rage had turned him into a monster.
“Is anyone home?”
The voice was Effie’s. Fear attacked with such force, Joni was afraid she might black out. She couldn’t put Effie in danger.
“Either you walk to the truck quietly with me or I kill the girl,” Joey said. “Decide quickly or I shoot you both.”
“I’ll d
o whatever you say, just please don’t hurt Effie.”
“Then start walking and smile as if you’re excited to be with me. We’re about to have some real fun.”
Chapter Nineteen
Leif and R.J. were at the barn door, ready to start back toward the house when R.J.’s cell phone rang. He wiped his hands on his jeans and pulled the phone from his pocket.
“It’s Hadley. Probably calling to say that she and Effie are back.” He switched the phone to speaker so Leif could listen in on the conversation.
“Is anything wrong?” Hadley asked.
“Nothing a little turkey and dressing can’t fix. Why do you ask?”
“I saw Joey Markham’s truck parked at your house when I dropped Effie off. I thought...”
Leif didn’t wait to hear the rest of the sentence. He took off for the house, running as fast as he could, his feet pounding the earth.
No reason to panic. Joey came around all the time.
Leif’s mind might have believed him. His heart didn’t. The nagging fear that had bothered him last night swelled into a frightening roar that consumed him.
There were too many ties between Joey and Jill Trotter to believe all of them were coincidence.
He reached the house in time to see Joni climb into the passenger seat of what must be Joey’s truck. Joey waved at him as he closed Joni’s door and headed to the driver’s seat.
Leif reached the truck before Joey could yank it into gear and speed away. He opened the truck door, grabbed Joey by the arm and tried to drag him from the truck.
Joey tried to kick him away, but Leif grabbed hold of the steering wheel and didn’t let go. When Joey punched at him, Leif saw the pistol point at his head.
Joni screamed and started beating Joey with both her fists, distracting Joey just long enough for Leif to get in a couple of solid blows and drag Joey from the truck. Fists flying, Leif wrestled him to the ground.
“Don’t kill my daddy.”
