“So you and Michelle are from the streets?”
“Damn right. Nothing was handed to us on a silver platter.”
“Unlike Michelle’s twin sister.”
Understanding dawned on D’Angelo and in turn he gave the cop a stiff smile. “I got to hand you your props. You knocked me off my game for a minute.”
“Is that what this is to you? A game?”
He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I just call it like I see it.”
Hernandez nodded. “Well, let me tell you how I see it. I see a man who’s bitten off more than he can chew. And all over a woman.”
D’Angelo laughed. “Man, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about you two murdering Daniel Thornton, Dr. Meredith Bancroft, Dr. Ambrose Turner, and probably Michelle’s twin sister, Josephine Ferrell.”
“That’s quite a list.”
“Finally something we can agree on.”
D’Angelo shrugged and laughed. “Hey, amigo. You got the wrong guy. ”
“I’m supposed to believe you? A minute ago, you told me that you didn’t know Michelle Andrews.”
“Look, I ain’t saying nothing else. I want my lawyer. I get a call, right?”
Hernandez laughed. “Lines re down. Who knows when they’ll be back up.”
D’Angelo’s eyes narrowed to small daggers, but Hernandez’s smile only blossomed.
“So what’s it going to be?” Hernandez braided his hands on the table. “Do you want to rot in a cell and hope that one day we’ll remember you’re there...or do you want to tell us what you know about Michelle Andrews?”
Chapter 31.
Josie returned to William’s house while feeling the onslaught of a headache. She was proud of what she’d accomplished that day, but it wasn’t without its emotional baggage. In fact, her tattered emotions were getting the best of her.
What she wouldn’t give for William to hold her. Maybe even tell her that she was doing the right thing.
After clearing a spot on the bed, she sat down and felt the gun holster at the center of her back. It was one of the best places to pack a piece according to Tammy. The other was around the ankle. Josie removed the new Glock from her back holster and the small .22 from her ankle. At this rate she would be ready to take on the Terminator.
A chill raced down her spine as she took a moment to step outside of herself. Suddenly, she couldn’t find a correct angle in anything she’d planned.
Her hands trembled, and, before she knew it, the tremor moved up her arms. Just when she thought she could bypass William’s advice and not take her shots this had to happen.
Josie searched and found the leather duffel bag, but hesitated in giving herself a shot.
She removed a vial and unwrapped a new hypodermic needle. But before she could administer the methadone, it was all over. That wasn’t so bad, she though. She released her held breath and relaxed back onto the bed.
It angered her that Michelle was responsible for her condition. She was tired of being a victim. The loss of her career, father, and nearly her life was slowly driving her odd the deep end.
An hour passed before she felt a hundred percent better, but during that time, she decided to take a peek at Michelle’s medical chart. She was disturbed by a lot of what was written. Most of it struck too close to home.
When she found herself feeling sympathetic, her wrist itched like crazy. She looked down and was reminded of just why she was going after Michelle. It was time to settle a score.
#
Michelle entered Marcus Hines’s office with glowing contempt and her patience hanging on by a thin thread. “This better be good,” she said, and then stopped short when she saw a team of men in black suits.
She turned toward Hines as he closed the door. “What’s this all about?”
“Ms. Ferrell, I’d like you to meet some of our attorneys.” He gestured to the only vacant chair in front of his desk. “Would you like to take a seat?”
“Attorneys?” she asked. “Did I miss something?”
Hines’s smile fluttered weakly. “I invited you here to discuss a possible settlement.”
She didn’t budge from her spot by the door. “Shouldn’t I have brought my own lawyers as well?”
“We just want to make an offer. You’re more than welcome to discuss any of this with your attorneys later.”
Michelle frowned, but then she realized that if Josie had contacted all the financial institutions, she just as likely had contacted her family’s law firm as well. That meant all of this was moot, anyway.
“I would love to talk about a settlement, but I really think this sort of thing needs to be discussed when all our lawyers are present.” She turned toward the door.
Hines jumped and blocked her exit.
Michelle took a retreating step as she frowned at him. “Is there a problem?”
“No, uh. I just wanted to at least go over some items with you. Who knows, if we can agree, we could get a check to you as soon as tomorrow?”
“A check tomorrow?”
Hines’s smile returned. “That’s if we can reach an agreement.”
Michelle said nothing as she mulled over this latest development and her palms itched with greed. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to hear you out.”
“Great.” He sighed with obvious relief. “Won’t you have a seat?”
She turned toward the group of men. “Don’t mind if I do.”
Sashaying her way into the center, Michelle was certain the men were all drawn to her curvaceous figure. She peeled the soft Chinchilla from her shoulders and lowered into the chair.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Hines turned to the cart beside his desk and reached for the glass pitcher of water.
“Some water would be nice.” She flashed everyone a cordial smile as she slid her fingers from her gloves and accepted the offered glass. “Thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
#
Josie retrieved the spare key to her father’s estate from a potted plant near the garage. She was more than a little disappointed that Michelle wasn’t there to greet her. The sooner she confronted her, the sooner she could end this.
Entering through the front door, she stepped into the spacious foyer that brought tears to her eyes. Home.
It was disheartening to see the place empty of life. Growing up, there had always been servants scurrying about while something delicious baking in the kitchen wafted throughout the house.
Now, the place was just...cold.
Josie closed the door and moved deeper into the house. The place was still reasonably clean, but that all changed when she climbed the spiral staircase and visited each bedroom.
Michelle had ransacked the place. The worst room was Josephine’s old room. In no time at all, Josie had deduced how Michelle had gotten her hands on everything from financial information to Josie’s social security number.
“She left no stone unturned.” Josie stepped over a pile of boxes to open her old closet. It was just all stuffnothing that meant anything.
The saddest thing in all of this, she thought, was how she would have gladly shared it all with Michelle. They were all material things anyway. All Josie wanted was a family, to be a part of something. To just belong.
Josie moved away from the closet and walked over to her old vanity. Melancholy, she picked up a few crystal bottles and sprayed their fragrances into the air. However, her mood worsened, and she fell the steady pulse of a new migraine.
Heaving an exhausted breath, she headed to the adjoining bathroom to see if she still had a bottle of Excedrin in the medicine cabinet.
#
William whizzed through his patent schedule. If it was all possible, he wanted to get out of there early, but Hines wasn’t kidding when he said that he was dealing with a diminishing and nervous staff. Everywhere he turned he was interrupting someone with the latest gossip about what had happened with D
r. Bancroft and Dr. Turner. The most popular story he’d heard was that their missing patient, Michelle Andrews, was knocking off the doctors to extract revenge on how she was treated while she was at Keystone.
After two hours of tolerating the low whispers, William’s nerves had sharpened to a fine point. To get through his day, he kept reminding himself that this would be over soon and everyone would know the truth. Of course, he wasn’t entirely sure what that meant for him. Would he lose his job, or worse, his license?
“Oh, Dr. Hayes.”
William turned and saw Dr. Coleman racing toward him. “Can’t talk now, Rae. I’ll catch up with you later.” He stepped onto the elevator and was grateful when the doors closed before Rae reached them.
Hishoulders slumped with relief. If Dr. Coleman had managed to corner him, heaven only knows when he would be able to escape. The elevator slowed to a stop; but when the doors slid open, William came face to face with Michelle Andrews.
Chapter 32
Ming entered Marcus Hines’s office and extended a hand. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your assistance in this matter.”
Hines cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly at her as he accepted her hand. “I’m happy to do whatever I can to help the authorities.”
She smiled and turned toward the other four officers who’d posed as attorneys. “Do we have what we need?”
One cop was still bent over and dusting for prints from Michelle’s empty water glass. “Just about through.”
Hines shook his head. “I still can’t believe it. Michelle Andrews masquerading as her twin sister.”
“Technically, it’s still a theory,” Ming said. “That’s what the fingerprints are for.”
“But if she’s Michelle, where is the real Josephine?”
Ming held little doubt that Josephine Ferrell had met the same fate as the others who stood in the way. “We’re still looking,” she said. “We’re still looking.”
#
“Oh, it’s you again.” Michelle smiled as she stepped into the elevator. “Going down?”
A faint smile curved William’s lips. “As a matter of fact, I am.”
“Perfect.” She glanced at the panel and punched for the lobby. When her eyes darted back over to William, she turned flirtatious and sauntered toward him. “What is your name again?”
“William,” he answered. “Dr. William Hayes.”
She winked. “You know, I’ve always had a thing for doctors.”
“Really?” How ironic.
“Uh, huh.” She backed him into a corner and was bold enough to run a finger down the center of his chest. “You know, I’ll be leaving town soon and I’d hate to miss the opportunity to play doctor with such a handsome one like you.”
It was odd for him to watch a replica of the face he’d loved so dearly be possessed with such a crazed malevolence. “I’ll have to pass.”
Michelle’s brows rose as the elevator slowed. “Don’t worry. No strings attached. I promise.”
He forced on a smile. “As tempting as your offer may be, I’m afraid you’re not my type.”
Michelle’s hands fell to her sides as annoyance flashed in her eyes. “Your loss.”
The doors slid open, and Dr. Coleman stopped in the doorway. Her gaze zeroed in on the cozy scene in the corner, and her mouth gaped open in shock.
Michelle winked, turned, and glided past the stunned doctor.
William drew a shaky breath, but he wasn’t foolish enough to stick around to hear a lecture from the queen of gab. He stepped forward to exit the elevator, but was completely thrown off guard when Rae pushed him back into the corner, pressed a floor, and then turned on him.
“Have you lost your mind? Do you know who that woman is?
“Rae, I don’t want to discuss this.”
That woman might be suing us soon, or have you forgotten about that?”
Annoyance crept along his spine, but he was careful not to let the emotion show. “Rae, thanks for the advice, but nothing happened.”
Once again, the elevator slowed to a stop, and William was spared more of his nosey colleagues’ comments when a group of formidable men and an uncharacteristically tall Asian woman stepped inside.
Rae maneuvered her way out of the cramped quarters and waved at William to follow.
“I’m going down,” he informed her.
She opened her mouth to protest, but the doors slid closed.
William sighed and slacked his shoulders in relief. “Close call,” he mumbled, and then darted a gaze to the other five persons occupying the small box. The only one who met his gaze was the attractive woman, but her expressionless features quickly turned toward the door when the elevator returned to the lobby.
The lady and the four suits filed out and gave William the impression they were the Secret Service running late to protect the president.
“Humph. I wonder what all that was about.”
#
Josie searched high and low through her old medicine cabinet for a bottle of Excedrin, but finally found it in the back of a cosmetic drawer. What time was it, she wondered, and how long would she have to wait until Michelle returned?
She walked back into the bedroom and, once again, stepped over a stack of boxes in the center of the floor. From the corner of her eyes, she recognized a pink storage container beneath one of the boxes. Turning toward it, Josie felt a warmth spread throughout her body.
She knelt and removed everything on top of the container and then popped it open. Piles of letters and pictures assaulted her memory and wrenched out her heart. “Summer of ’88,” she read the storage label.
Josie had forgotten she’d stored these things at her father’s home. She reached inside and withdrew a poem that William had left on her pillow one morning. “The taste of you.”
A smile fluttered across her lips while the poem evoked the same emotions as it had sixteen years earlier. She reached for another envelope, but this time a small stack of pictures spilled out onto the floor.
She picked up a photo and blushed at the memory of her slinking across a grand piano in a red-sequined dress.
“We really had a lot of fun together,” she whispered. “We were perfect together.” Her vision blurred beneath a thin sheen of tears.
Josie laid the picture against her chest and thought back to the first time she’d ever made love...
“There’s no need for you to be shy,” William whispered against her ear. “You’re beautiful.”
After weeks of dating, it was the first time that Josie had mustered up the nerve to invite him into her bedroom. It was the first time she’d invited any man in there, and now that they were there, she couldn’t stop trembling.
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said.
“No.” She placed his hand across her heart so he could feel how hard it was beating. “I want to do this. I want to make love to you.” As always, she melted at the sight of his dimpled-cheeks and the gleam of his bright smile.
“I want to make love to you, too,” he said. He looked into her eyes and tilted her face so her mouth could receive him.
It was the sweetest kiss ever and it melted all thoughts of Etienne from her mind.
Though the knots in her stomach unraveled, her heart hammered with anticipation. This was a big step, and there was no doubt in her mind she wanted to do it.
William’s warm lips slid lovingly from her mouth and settled along the crook of her neck. As if he’d activated a switch, Josie’s eyes rolled while her head dipped back.
Her breath thinned as he peeled down the straps of her dress. Shortly after, her knees knocked at the sound of him unzipping her dress.
“It’s not too late, you know. You can still back out.”
Her dress fell and pooled at her feet.
“I have to tell you, I’m praying that you don’t.”
Josie still didn’t answer, and William stopped.
Their eyes met for a long
searching moment.
“Josie?” He eased a finger down her jawline and cupped her chin. “No pressure.”
There was something about the calm blue of his eyes and the silkiness of his voice that assuaged her nervousness. Before she knew it, she was melting all over again.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered, and glided her arms around his neck. “Don’t ever stop.”
His smile was a mischievous one and when his strong hands cupped her full breasts, she was eternally branded as his. She gently pulled his head down, and within seconds she was intoxicated by the simple taste of his kiss.
When William unhooked her bra, Josie was breathless. He turned his head to pepper kisses along the curve of her shoulder. Desire surged in impatient waves while his hands skimmed down the curves of her body and looped inside the lace of her panties.
Something new was happening and she couldn’t extinguish the persisting throb between her legs. She leaned back and allowed his breath to caress her skin and her Victoria’s Secret to join the rest of her clothing on the floor.
“It’s your turn,” he said in a ragged whisper.
It was the first hint of the power she possessed over him, and she was emboldened by it. Taking her time, she unbuttoned his shirt, and then peeled the material from his broad shoulders.
Josie drew in a breath and lightly ran her fingers through the fine hairs on his chest. He was a beautiful specimen of a man. She couldn’t believe he belonged to her.
In no time, the lovers stood naked before one another. Both assessed, memorized, and loved what they saw.
Deadly Double Page 19
