Paradise Falls

by Jacobs, Jonnie

  “What would you ask her if you could?”

  Why she’d done it. And if it was an accident, why hadn’t she tried to get help? Why hadn’t she told anyone what had happened? His dad said it was because Lucy was jealous of Caitlin and that sometimes, even if you liked a person, you wanted to hurt them. Adam couldn’t help thinking his dad cut Lucy a lot more slack than he had his own son. That hurt. And Lucy had been willing to let Adam take the blame. That hurt even more. No one had stood behind him. Not his parents. Not Lucy. Certainly not Grace. No one really cared about him except Caitlin.

  Dr. Passant hadn’t taken his turn yet. He was looking at Adam. “You didn’t answer me. What would you like to say to her?”

  “Does it matter? Everything’s changed. Nothing’s going to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.”

  “That’s true. But you have a long life ahead of you. You can be part of that scrambled mess or you can decide to be whole.”

  “Like I really have a choice!”

  “You want to live, don’t you? To live a life that’s uniquely yours.”

  Adam had three darts remaining. He tossed them all at once, as a handful. They bounced off the wall and landed on the floor.

  “I hate Lucy,” he said. “How about that? I fucking hate her. She ruined my life.”

  “I can see how you might feel that way.”

  “Can we talk about this later?”

  Adam didn’t wait for an answer. He strode out of the doctor’s homey office and into the sterile common room of the facility. A large window along one wall looked out onto the grounds. Adam loved looking out, even though the window was embedded with wire mesh. It wouldn’t do to have an inmate jump, after all. Not that he thought about jumping. Death ended the pain but it ended everything else, too. He saw that now. He simply liked watching the world. It was more comfortable than living in it.

  He did hate Lucy, but felt sad for her too. Mostly, though, he missed Caitlin. Not the Caitlin of his fantasies, but the funny, sweet girl who was his stepsister and closest friend. He should never have taken those photos of her. That had been totally stupid, even though Caitlin hadn’t seemed to mind when she found out.

  “You think I’m pretty?” she’d asked him, sounding incredulous.

  “Yes.” She was so obviously pretty, he’d thought at first that she was playing him for a fool. But the way her eyes lit up made him realize that wasn’t the case.

  “Sexy?”

  He’d blushed. “Yeah, of course.”

  And then she’d started crying. Adam had been afraid he’d said the wrong thing. “But smart, too,” he’d hastened to add. “And nice.”

  “But sexy? You weren’t just saying? You meant it?”

  “Good sexy, not in a bad way.”

  “So if we weren’t related, you could see yourself maybe being attracted to me?”

  Adam had felt his blush deepen. “Yeah. Depending.”

  She’d leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. “You’re the best brother, ever,” she said. “The only person who sees me.”

  They’d gone into the yard where they sat crossed legged on the grass, talking about everything and nothing. She told him about Fern, her best friend who’d moved way, about the Divas and how Caitlin didn’t really fit in. He told her he knew about not fitting in, and they’d laughed.

  Two days later she was dead.

  Adam wondered what would have happened between them if she’d lived.

  Chapter 56

  The doorbell rang as Rayna was busy cleaning Anastasia’s cage. She couldn’t imagine who it could be and wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. So far, she’d managed to dodge the press, except for Seth Robbins—she figured she owed him a debt of gratitude. And the only time she’d ventured outside the house, the condition of her face had drawn so many stares she was determined to avoid being seen in public for a while longer.

  The doorbell rang a second time, and then a third. Her visitor gave no indication of leaving. Annoyed, Rayna finally answered it, letting in a blast of damp air.

  “I knew you had to be home,” Cody said with a grin. “Your car’s in the driveway.”

  Rayna’s heart lifted at the sight of him, but she’d be damned if she’d fly into his arms.

  “Don’t you ever call first?” She stepped back to let him in so she could close the door again before all the heat escaped.

  “I take it you’re alone?” He stood with his hands behind his back.

  “And why do you assume that?”

  “Because I want that to be the case?” Offering a quirky smile, he handed her a box of See’s candy and a bottle of chilled champagne. “All dark,” he said. “The chocolates, that is. Your favorite.”

  “Thank you.” She accepted the gifts and returned the smile.

  “How are you?”

  “I’ve been worse.”

  “I don’t see how.” Cody touched her chin and gingerly lifted her face to the light. “Ouch, Rayna. That must hurt like hell.”

  His touch sent a tingle down her spine.

  “You had quite an experience from what I hear.”

  “At least it had a happy ending,” she said.

  “But it was damned close. When I think what might have happened . . .” Cody held her gaze until she looked away. “You don’t have to always appear tough, Rayna.”

  “I don’t.” She blinked back tears. “I’m not. Not nearly as tough as I thought I was.”

  He traced a finger along her jaw. “I didn’t mean that. You’re strong and gutsy, but you’re human too. You’ve been through a real ordeal. You’re lucky to be alive.”

  “Anyway, it’s over,” Rayna said, taking a deep breath.

  Cody looked at her for a moment longer, then took off his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. “Shall we open the champagne?”

  “Are we celebrating something?”

  “You being alive. Can’t think of anything more important than that.”

  He followed her into the kitchen and unwrapped the foil from around the neck of the bottle while Rayna found wine glasses. Then he popped the cork and the champagne frothed to the rims before settling back down.

  “Done like an expert,” she told him, endeavoring to move the conversation to lighter, safer ground.

  He raised his glass toward her. “To the successful conclusion of your investigation and the capture of an evil killer.”

  The first taste of champagne was always the best, Rayna thought. She loved the cool, slightly sweet taste and the tingle that followed so quickly and smoothly in the rest of her body. “Let’s go into the living room. There’s a fire set there.”

  “You sure you weren’t expecting company?”

  “I always have one set. That way I can have a fire whenever I feel like it.”

  He grinned at her. “That’s my girl. Always thinking ahead.”

  She was tempted to point out that it had been quite a while since she’d been his girl, if she ever had, but she liked the sound of it. My girl.

  While Cody took a match to the fire, Rayna lit the candles strategically placed around the room. She loved the ambience of a fire and candlelight, though she rarely indulged.

  They settled on opposite ends of the sofa and Rayna curled her feet under her so that she was turned toward Cody.

  “It might have been my investigation,” she said after a moment, “but I didn’t have much to do with its successful conclusion.”

  “You did. You saved an innocent girl from impending death at the hands of a psychopath.”

  “She’s not innocent.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You haven’t heard the latest?”

  “I’ve heard nothing since the arrest yesterday afternoon.” He took a long sip of his drink. “It’s been an intense twenty-four hours. We finally broke a gambling and drug trafficking ring, the focus of our operation.”

  “Congratulations.” Rayna raised her glass in another toast.

  “
What haven’t I heard?”

  “The man we caught killed Karen Holiday and Terri Lowe”—and Kimberly, Rayna added silently, but she didn’t trust herself to talk about that at the moment—“and he kidnapped Lucy Peterson, but he didn’t kill Caitlin.”

  “I’m not sure I follow—”

  “We suspected Caitlin’s death might be different from the others, remember?”

  “What are you saying? That it was Adam, after all?”

  “Not Adam. His sister, Lucy.”

  Cody’s eyes widened. “The girl you rescued from the barn?”

  “Right. She admitted as much to Grace, and then again, with some prodding, to the DA.”

  “Good God. Why?”

  “She claims it was an accident. Caitlin took a shortcut home after her father failed to pick her up from school. Lucy followed and they got into an argument. Lucy pushed her and Caitlin fell into the river, or so Lucy says. Maybe that’s what happened, maybe not. We’ll never know.”

  “But she could have gone for help. She could have told someone what happened.”

  “Right. Instead, she tried to make it look like the person who killed Karen Holiday also killed Caitlin. Grace learned from Karen’s mother that Karen’s wallet had been found in a Dumpster in the mall, and Lucy overheard Grace tell Carl. Lucy thought if she got rid of Caitlin’s backpack in the same place, people would assume the deaths were connected.”

  “But what about the pictures Adam had of Caitlin?”

  “Like you said early on, he’s a teenage boy with hormones.”

  Cody refilled their glasses. “What kind of sick kid lets her brother take the blame?”

  “The kind who lets her stepsister drown without going for help.”

  “What’s going to happen to her?”

  “That’s for the DA to decide. But she’s only a child. And it might well have been an accident. There’s certainly no way of proving otherwise.”

  “How terribly sad. For everyone.”

  Rayna heard genuine feeling in his voice and it touched her. For all his cocky, seemingly cool nonchalance, Cody had heart.

  “What made the guy who abducted you suddenly start killing teenage girls?”

  Rayna looked at the flames dancing in the fireplace. Surprisingly, her ordeal in the barn hadn’t soured her on fires. She’d always loved a crackling fire and the scent of wood smoke—comfort food for the soul.

  “He blames me for the death of his daughter at the hands of his ex-wife’s boyfriend,” Rayna said. “He wanted to make me look bad.”

  “Come again?”

  “Back when I was working in San Jose, I arrested Earl. His ex-wife had a restraining order against him, one I helped her obtain after bouts of violence. He not only violated the order, he abducted his daughter. I arrested him and sent the daughter back to her mother. Then the mother’s boyfriend killed them both.”

  “That’s rough. But why show up now to get even?”

  “He didn’t wait until now.” She felt her eyes tear up. “He killed Kimberly. He killed her for revenge.”

  “What? Oh, Rayna. Sweetheart.” Cody moved closer and took her into his arms.

  She cried softly, unable to stop. She’d thought she was past that. Not past the sorrow, but past the uncontrollable welling up of emotion.

  “ ‘A daughter for a daughter’ is what he told me. It‘s my fault Kimberly died. My fault Karen and Terri were killed, too.”

  “It’s not your fault, Rayna. Surely you can see that?”

  “Maybe it’s a matter of perspective.” In her own mind, she was clearly to blame. She took the handkerchief Cody held out and dried her eyes. “I used to fantasize about what I would like to do to Kimberly’s killer, and then when I found him, or he found me, I was helpless. I couldn’t do anything. I wish I could have beaten him to a pulp.”

  “He’ll be convicted, Rayna. Most likely executed.”

  “After how many years?” Revenge wasn’t the answer. Look where it had taken Earl. But in her heart, that’s what she wanted. She wanted to see him dead.

  “Prison’s not going to be a cakewalk for him,” Cody pointed out. “He’ll suffer plenty.”

  “Not enough for me.” Rayna blew her nose and took a deep breath. “On a more positive note,” she said, trying to sound chipper, “the chief never accepted my resignation. I have my job still, if I want it.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  She smiled. “It surprises me.”

  They sat in silence watching the fire. Cody’s arm along the back cushions casually brushed her shoulders.

  “Tell me about this ring you busted,” she said.

  “Not much to tell, except that the work was intense. And satisfying.”

  “In contrast to a nothing case in a podunk town?”

  He winced. “I told you I was sorry about that. I was peeved at the agency and took it out on you.”

  “So now it’s back to D.C.?”

  He took a sip of champagne. “I was offered a job in the Seattle office.”

  “One that interests you?”

  “It’s a good job. And the location is right. Not within commuting distance to Paradise Falls, but a whole lot closer than D.C.”

  Stunned, she said, “Are you going to take it?”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “You. If my being closer seems like it might be easier for us to see more of one another. If you were open to the idea.”

  He watched her intently, but she felt overwhelmed and confused, unable to respond.

  Cody poured her more champagne.

  “Aren’t you having any more?” Rayna asked, eyeing his empty glass.

  “I’ve got a long drive back to the hotel.”

  “You could stay here.”

  “No, I need to get back. There’s no sense tempting temptation.”

  Rayna realized she did know what she wanted. She met his eyes and smiled. “Cody, the closer thing, the job in Seattle, sounds good to me. Really, really good.”

  Chapter 57

  Grace waited until later that week, when she knew Carl would be at work, before going back to the house to pack up her things. Sandy had been kind enough to let Grace stay with her until she’d found an apartment—a duplex, small but bright and freshly repainted. Grace had liked it immediately.

  Now, as she looked around the house, she felt nothing but sadness. She wouldn’t miss living here. They’d agreed to hold off selling it for a bit, but Grace knew that Carl had no more interest in staying than she did. There were happy memories in that house, but she had trouble recalling them. Maybe with time they’d return.

  She loved Carl, just as he claimed to love her. But love wasn’t enough. In books and movies maybe, but not in real life. In life, obstacles were sometimes too great to be overcome.

  She went through her closet quickly, selecting only those items she really liked and wore often. She packed up enough towels and sheets to see her through the short run, a few of the pots and pans she’d brought into the marriage, and then filled a large box with as much of the contents of Caitlin’s room as she could. There would be time down the road to sort through and divide household items with Carl. They were both determined to be fair and even-handed.

  Besides, she had to hurry if she was going to be on time to meet Jake for lunch. She’d thought he might blame her for what happened to Caitlin. If she hadn’t married Carl, Caitlin would be alive. Instead, Jake seemed to gather strength from Grace’s company. Gather and give. He was her lifeline out of despair.

  “Caitlin was our daughter,” he told her. “We grieve for her in a way no one else can.”

  Grace’s phone rang as she placed the last of Caitlin’s photo albums into the box.

  “Hi, Grace. This is Rayna.”

  Grace had spoken to Rayna only briefly since she’d stopped by with soup. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “Probably bett
er than you. Am I disturbing you?”

  “No. I’m at the house packing up a few things. I took that duplex I told you about. As soon as I get settled, I’ll invite you over for dinner. If you want, that is.”

  “I’d love to come. In fact, I was calling to ask if you’d be interested in a weekend retreat.”

  “A retreat?”

  “It won’t be a touchy-feely thing, I can promise you that. A woman I met when I was working in San Jose is writing a book about parents of murdered children. There will be group discussions and she’s a wonderful woman. Her own daughter was abducted and murdered eight years ago. Any chance you’d like to go with me? You don’t have to give me an answer right away.”

  Grace looked at the box of Caitlin’s belongings. Her daughter’s death would be a hole in her heart forever. She’d miss Caitlin every minute of every day for as long as she lived. But she realized she couldn’t rewrite the past. She could only learn to live with it. And who better to understand what she felt than others who’d been through what she had?

  “Actually,” she told Rayna. “I don’t need to think about it. I’d like to go.”

  About the Author

  Jonnie Jacobs is the bestselling author of twelve previous mystery and suspense novels. A former practicing attorney and the mother of two grown sons, she lives in northern California with her husband. Email her at jonnie@jonniejacobs.com or visit her on the web at http://www.jonniejacobs.com.

  Books by Jonnie Jacobs

  Kali O'Brien Novels of Legal Suspense (in order)

  SHADOW OF DOUBT

  EVIDENCE OF GUILT

  MOTION TO DISMISS

  WITNESS FOR THE DEFENSE

  COLD JUSTICE

  INTENT TO HARM

  THE NEXT VICTIM

  The Kate Austen Mysteries (in order)

  MURDER AMONG NEIGHBORS

  MURDER AMONG FRIENDS

  MURDER AMONG US

  MURDER AMONG STRANGERS

  Non-series books

  THE ONLY SUSPECT

  PARADISE FALLS