by Marion Myles
She straightened and shifted to the middle of the seat until she could see into the rearview mirror. “Officer Jensen, what will happen when I get to the police station?”
His eyes met hers in the mirror. “You’ll go through processing. They’ll want your clothes and fingernail scraping, things like that. I imagine they’ll need to go over what happened, probably multiple times.”
“It sounds like I could be there for a while,” she said.
“I don’t think it’ll be quick,” he agreed.
And indeed, Officer Jensen was right. By the time she’d told her story for the third time, she was pretty much all talked out. The more she spoke about it, the less real it seemed. Like something she’d watched in a movie. Her mind was numb, and she wondered if the pounding behind her eye would ever go away.
“Thank you, Miss Reeves. You’ve been very cooperative. I need to step out for a minute.”
She couldn’t remember the detective’s name. She nodded wearily and rubbed her eyes. It was the same room she’d been in when she’d first come to the police station all those weeks ago. None of this would have happened if she’d left it alone. Including Roman.
Given a choice, she’d do it all again, she decided.
It took hours that felt like days, but Mia was finally released from the police station shortly after ten p.m. A uniformed officer named Murphy drove her home. Inside, at the core of her being, she was broken. Because she was shaken so badly, she wondered how she’d ever recover. Having always considered herself tough as nails, this was a bitter pill to swallow. She hadn’t seen Roman since the ambulance on Shaker’s Line and imagined he must be in a state far worse than her own.
When Murphy made the final turn to the parking area, the headlights flashed over the dogs in the run behind the house. They charged at the fence, leaping and barking when she got out of the car. The house was ablaze with lights. A second police car was parked off to the side of the walkway. The officer, a woman, got out and walked over to speak to Murphy. Mia stood there uncertainly.
“We’re all done here,” the woman said. “You’re cleared to go in.”
Mia nodded and walked up the steps and into her house. She went straight through to the kitchen and opened the side door. The dogs rushed in, bumping against one another and pounced on her. Sobbing, she slid to the floor and gathered them to her. Mac half crawled onto her lap and wedged his head up between her arms so he could lick her face. Tucker, unable to contain his excitement, jumped back and forth over her legs letting out barks of frenzied delight.
“You guys, I missed you so much,” she hiccupped. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
It was a long time before she stopped crying. The dogs, gradually subduing, sat on her legs or pressed up against her. When she finally crawled off the floor, she locked the kitchen door, noticing the tape across the broken pane by the handle, and turned off the light. Then she walked back to the front door, checked it was locked and, as one, she and the dogs climbed the stairs and went straight to bed.
Mia’s dreams took her back into the woods. Only this time she couldn’t get her hands free. Or the shovel turned into a plastic lightsaber and bounced harmlessly off Tony’s head. One time she reached in to get the car keys from his back pocket, and he came to life, no longer tied. He tackled her to the ground. She woke gasping for breath, shaking, sometimes crying out, with the dogs all around her whining on the bed.
Finally, at a quarter to four, she’d had enough, and after a bracing shower, she went downstairs. If ever there was a morning for coffee, she thought, starting a small pot, this was the day. Her phone was on the counter, and she stared at it for a full thirty seconds before picking it up.
Three missed calls. All from Roman. She should call him. Well, not now, obviously, since it was four in the morning, but soon. She needed him, dammit. And she’d never, in her whole life, needed anyone before.
After giving the dogs a double ration to make up for the day before, she drank coffee out on the back porch and studied the horizon waiting for sunrise and a new day to dawn.
Why was she so afraid?
* * *
It was barely after five when headlights bounced off the shed at the end of her driveway. The dogs came to attention before rushing to the fence and barking out their severe displeasure at being interrupted.
Roman parked beside her Escape, stepped out, and scanned the property. Mia didn’t move, didn’t make a sound, but he must have sensed her even in the half-light. Instead of following the path to the front porch, he made his way across the lawn and unlatched the gate by the kitchen.
The dogs surrounded him, welcoming him back like a long-lost brother. He crouched down, patting and stroking without taking his eyes from her. Because of the shadow of the house and the sun rising behind him, she couldn’t read his expression, but she sensed the anxiety well enough. It looked like they were both on unsteady ground and feeling their way forward.
Except she knew what she was going to do. What she must do. And nothing had ever scared her as much. No guts, no glory, she thought and smiled to herself.
“Hi, Roman,” she said. “Do you want coffee?”
He rose slowly, nudging the dogs to the side and stepping up onto the deck before kneeling down in front of her chair. His arms came around her shoulders, and his forehead pressed against hers while he hugged her so tightly she worried a rib might crack. His breath was unsteady, and she could feel the thumping of his heart against her own chest, strong and fast.
She stroked his cheek, raspy with stubble, then angled her head and kissed him softly. When his lips turned needy and demanding, she gently pushed him back until their eyes met. She could read the questions, the fatigue, and most of all the unbearable grief.
“Are we not okay?” he asked. “We have to be okay. I almost lost you yesterday, and I swear to all that’s holy, I thought I’d die right there with you. I know you must be shaken, but don’t turn me away. Please, God, don’t shut me out.”
Leaning into him again, she kissed one cheek then the other, and smoothed a hand through his hair. She shifted to the side and gained her feet.
“Remember the other day when you told me you knew Mia wasn’t my name?”
He got to his feet too. Crossing both arms over his chest, he faced her with wary eyes. “Yes, I remember.”
“Once I knew you knew, I was planning to run. I didn’t go to the security firm like I said. I went into Dalton and got as much cash as I could along with some supplies. I also stole a couple of license plates in case I needed them for cover on toll roads. Yesterday morning, after you were called to Walkerton, I started packing.”
Roman drew away several paces until his back was against the wall of the house. “Why are you telling me this?” His voice was all official cop now.
Dropping her head, she exhaled long and slow then lifted it again and met his gaze. “Because I’m not going to lie to you anymore. I suspect it will be the end of us. I hope not because I’m in love with you. It’s my first time being in love, by the way. Anyway, I need you to promise something first.”
“I’d like to, but I’ll want to hear what you have to say before I give you my word on anything.”
She nodded slowly once, twice, scanning across the yard where the dogs were sniffing around by the far line of fencing. “I guess that’s fair. So, not a promise then, but I’ll ask you anyway. When this plays out between us…and you decide which way to go if something happens…if I’m no longer able to take care of the dogs, please find them homes. They don’t deserve to pay for my mistakes.” She turned back to face him. “And not a shelter, okay? I know it’s too much to expect a home for all four, but maybe you could keep the pairs intact. It would mean so much to me.”
He blinked at her, clearly not having expected this. “I’ll do my best,” he said at last.
She paced back to the chair. Rubbing her palms down the front of her jeans, she then sat for a moment but bounced back up to her
feet. “I’m nervous. This is harder than I thought.”
“Start with something small,” he suggested.
“Okay. My true name is Jennifer Melanie Dawson. Jenny, really. And that’s actually not small, is it?”
“I don’t know. It’ll depend on why you’re using an alias.” After unfolding his arms, he hooked his thumbs in the front pocket of his jeans.
“For the reason I imagine most people do. To get away from my past. It’s not the first time I’ve switched identities, but this name was different because I’d seen the light. Not in a come-to-Jesus kind of way…more that I wanted to start over fresh and live a good, decent life that didn’t involve running scams or…well, some of the other things I did in the past.”
She sighed, and all the anxiety went out of her. Sitting back down on the Muskoka chair, she took a sip of her coffee before continuing. “I wanted to settle down, run a business, and stop having to look over my shoulder. And it was great for a while. When I was younger, I always imagined I’d be bored to death living the straight life. So not true. I loved it. Loved my house, making my jewelry, and especially the dogs. Then I loved you, and it hurt so much because I knew I couldn’t keep you. A cop and a criminal together? How would that ever work? The answer was, it wouldn’t. Somehow though, you made me believe I had to try.”
“Did you kill anyone?”
“What? No. Never. I didn’t even have a gun. My specialty was theft. I’d befriend some guy, a rich one usually, of course. And with my abilities, it didn’t take long to learn alarm codes, combinations to safes, things like that. Then I’d take what I wanted and move on to a new mark. I mostly stuck to cash and jewelry, though sometimes a painting would catch my interest. For a brief period of time, I had a Monet in my possession.”
Other than the blinking of his eyes, Roman had been practically immobile during her confession. When she looked up at him and shrugged, he finally came to life.
“Tell me the truth. Have you targeted any of the citizens in Dalton?”
“Not a one,” she said easily. “I told you, I’m living the straight life now. Well, except the license plates. Besides, I only ever went after the uber rich anyway. I’d never take from some hard-working soul just trying to get by.”
He blew out a breath and shook his head, then rubbed a hand across his face. “I don’t think I can take anymore. Between Tony and now you, I feel like my whole world is imploding.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “It’s a lot. But I was terrified locked in that trunk. Later when he marched me through the woods, I promised myself if I survived I was going to do better. Be better. I’d already started down a more decent path, but this feels like the final step. If I have to go to prison, well…” She spread her hands. “I’ll find a way to deal with it.”
“You’ve put me in a hell of a position.”
“I’m sorry. Don’t forget though, you asked for it. You pushed and pushed and wouldn’t let me go. You told me you wanted a relationship. Well, here you are. I’m all in, just like you wanted.”
He stepped away from the wall and paced over to the gate and back up the stairs onto the deck. “Why couldn’t you have had an abusive ex or something? That would’ve been so much easier to deal with.”
“Because I’d never have let anyone abuse me. I already told you, I’m no damsel in distress.”
“Where’s your family in all of this?”
Her head tipped forward, and her hair fell over her face, hiding her eyes. “Don’t know where my mom is. I imagine Pop’s running cons same as always. He liked Vegas, but he could be anywhere.”
Roman didn’t say anything for a moment. Finally, he walked back over and sat on the second chair. “Did he hurt you?”
“Pops?” She snorted. “No. He never hurt me.”
“But he got you into the life, didn’t he?”
“Sure. Taught me everything he knew.”
“Jenny…No, you’ll always be Mia to me. Mia, it’s not your fault.”
“Maybe not at first when I was a little kid, but kids grow up. Learn right from wrong. For a long time, I knew I wasn’t a good person.” She shrugged and slid a lock of hair behind her ear. “Eventually I made the decision to go down a different path. I can’t go back and change my past. Can’t fix what I did. This is part of me, and you’ll have to decide if you can live with it.”
He exhaled. “I have a couple more questions. First, did you do any jail time?”
“I was sent to juvie once for shoplifting. Didn’t much like it.”
“Why’d you decide to get out of the life? In my experience, criminals don’t simply wake up one day and turn in their bad guy costume.”
“Yes, well, there’s a story. Let’s just say I got cocky. Thought I was invincible. Turns out I wasn’t. One particular mark, my last one actually, somehow caught on to me. Since he was affiliated with the Russian mob, you could say I didn’t fare too well. I came to in an alley all busted up and my entire stash gone. Close to a million dollars. I couldn’t go to the hospital. And obviously, the police were out. It gave me a lot of time to think. Too much time. When I finally got back on my feet, I knew I was done with the cons.”
“But you had no money,” Roman said.
“You don’t miss much, do you?” When he continued to hold her gaze, she sighed. “Okay, I didn’t run any more cons, but I did hit Atlantic City and then went down to Vegas. Poker. It’s a good game for me. I was careful. Moved around through all the casinos. Made sure to lose here and there and not keep raking in the big pots. After a couple of months, I had a good nest egg. I’d already started making jewelry on the side. For fun mostly. Whenever I wore one of my pieces out and about, people commented, and it gave me the idea to start Healing Crystals. That’s it.”
She sat back in the chair, rubbing a hand over her forehead. The dogs had returned to the deck and lay sprawled at her feet. With the sun halfway up the sky by now, shafts of light caught fire in her hair. She looked tired but resolute and didn’t avert her eyes while he studied her.
“Okay,” he said at last. “Thank you for telling me. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I need time to think it over.”
“I understand. Do you still want that coffee?”
“Um…no, I should probably get back.”
“Can you tell me what’s happening? How are your parents?”
“Not so good, as you can probably imagine. At first, they didn’t believe it was Tony. But the Nashville police found a bunch of aliases and the forged documents to go with them.” He winced at the words and flicked a glance over to Mia who didn’t respond. “Anyway, it led them to a storage locker, and everything was there. More emerald rings. Souvenirs from the other women, mostly wallets, and purses. Another Taser along with chloroform and ketamine. He’d even printed out news stories of each disappearance and murder and was keeping a kind of bragging file. The evidence is irrefutable.”
“I guess your parents will eventually come to grips with what he did, but it’s so awful. Do you think they’ll be okay?”
She reached across and patted his arm in sympathy. He stiffened and though it was subtle, shifted enough that the contact was broken. She understood. He wasn’t doing it to hurt her, but to protect himself while he made up his mind about everything she’d told him. It did hurt though. Like a knife to the belly. Well, she’d asked for it, hadn’t she?
“I honestly don’t know if they’ll ever recover. We’re all shell-shocked.”
“And Tony?” she asked hesitantly.
“At St. Mark’s and still in a coma. My parents are there praying he wakes up. I don’t think he’s going to.”
“I’m so sorry, Roman. I didn’t…wasn’t trying…I was terrified. I didn’t have murder in my mind. I only wanted to get away. Get back to you. It’s funny how clear everything becomes in a situation like that. I knew I had to tell you everything. I was so scared I wouldn’t get the chance. Then you’d never know how I truly felt about you.”
&nbs
p; After a beat, he leaned forward in his chair and reached over, taking her hand in his. “Even though it feels hard right now, I’m really glad you did. I’m gonna go back to the hospital…be with my parents. I hope you understand I want to check out everything you told me. Maybe you wouldn’t mind texting me names, places, and the like? Especially your last guy. The Russian.”
She swallowed once but worked up a smile. “Of course. Let me know how…well, I hope you’ll keep in touch.”
“You might want to think about getting some security for the next week or so. Your name hasn’t leaked yet, but it will. The news hounds are at the hospital, and no doubt they’ll be invading Dalton today. It won’t take them long to make their way out here. Call Mitch Fowler at Tightline. Tell him I gave you the referral. They’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll leave a message this morning.” She rose with him and walked over to the gate. “Guess I’ll see you when I see you.”
Standing on tiptoes, she placed her lips against his and breathing him in, lingered for several seconds. When they drew apart, his fingers came to her face, tracing softly across her cheeks as though memorizing the bone structure. His other hand rose and cupped the back of her head before taking her mouth in a fierce, desperate kiss.
For a split second, she wondered if this was goodbye. She pushed the thought away and dove into the kiss. He tasted of coffee and cherry gum, and she pressed against his chest needing every bit of contact she could get. Her arms clasped him to her, and she slid her leg in between his, bringing him even closer. Melding them together.
Then Roman pulled back, shifted his hips, and she let her arms drop as they fell apart again.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Over the next few days, Mia didn’t venture away from her house. Roman had been right about the reports and news teams. Mitch Fowler and his crew were up to the task. He refused all interview requests on her behalf and kept the media off her property. Once again, she was thankful for the remote location and the long driveway.
