Come Home

by Lisa Scottoline

  Jill thought back to the ER room, with the fake FBI agents. “Cohz and Donator knew he was undercover. How did they know?”

  “I can’t answer that, at this time.”

  “So who were Donator and Cohz and why did they try to kill us?”

  “I can’t answer that, either.”

  “Don’t we have a need to know that?” Jill tried to keep her temper, but it wasn’t easy. “What if Agent Cohz, or whoever he was, comes back to try to kill us? Or did you catch him?”

  Special Agent Harrison hesitated. “Dr. Farrow, the man who told you he was Special Agent Cohz is dead.”

  “What? How?” Jill asked, shocked. “The EpiPen wouldn’t have killed him, even in the carotid. It’s only epinephrine.”

  “Apparently, he had a heart condition, and it caused a heart attack.”

  “Oh no.” Jill flashed on the scene in the car. “I didn’t know, he was so young. It wasn’t supposed to kill him.”

  “We’ve already discussed this with the local authorities, and you won’t be charged, of course. Either of you. It was self-defense.”

  Jill felt stunned. “But I’m a doctor.”

  “He would have killed you both without a second thought.”

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t make it right, for me. I took an oath.” Jill felt a wave of guilt, and Victoria took her hand.

  “I killed a man today, too.”

  Jill looked over, feeling for her. “But you saved me.”

  “We saved each other,” Victoria said, squeezing her hand. “We’ll help each other through this, like you said. We’ll get through it, together.” She turned to Special Agent Harrison. “Was my father murdered?”

  Special Agent Harrison pursed his lips. “I can’t answer that. I’m sorry. You don’t need to know that—”

  “The hell I don’t,” Victoria snapped. “I do need to know that. My sister needs to know that. He’s our father.”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t share that information with you at this time.” Special Agent Harrison glanced at Special Agent Kavicka, then back at Victoria. “When this is over, you’ll see why.”

  Victoria squeezed Jill’s hand. “I don’t understand any of this. Why did my Dad have a double identity, and why was Brian undercover? Was it because of my Dad? Was Brian just pretending to be my friend?”

  Special Agent Harrison cleared his throat. “Ms. Skyler, you can discuss that with Brian yourself, but not tonight. We need to debrief him.”

  Victoria turned to Jill, abruptly. “Oh, no, we didn’t call Abby. Should we call her and tell her to come home?”

  “No, not yet,” Special Agent Harrison interjected. “She’s safer out of the picture, and you must wait until after we’ve made the arrests to tell her anything.”

  Jill thought of Megan, stricken. “Is my daughter in danger? She’s with a friend of mine.”

  “We know exactly where she is, and she’s in no danger. We have a team stationed at the Feehans’ house to protect her.”

  “How do you know where she is?” Then Jill realized something. “Have you been following me? Are you the ones with the black SUV?”

  Special Agent Harrison shook his head, his lips a flat line. “Again, I can’t explain that to you, at this time. When everything is resolved and things become public, all of your questions will be answered.”

  Jill couldn’t take no for an answer, not after today. “Did Nina’s husband really kill her? Or was she murdered by Cohz and Donator?”

  “Again, after the grand jury meets and the indictments come down, I will meet with you and explain everything.”

  Jill felt sick at heart. “Did I lead them to Nina, can you tell me that? Did I get her and her husband killed?”

  “Again, I can’t answer.”

  Jill had too many questions that couldn’t wait. “Let me tell you what I figured out, and maybe you can confirm or deny. My ex-husband, William Skyler, also known as Neil Straub, was getting inside information from Nina D’Orive about upcoming Pharmcen recalls and selling it to a man named Joe Zeptien, who sold the stock short and made a ton of money.” Jill glanced over at Victoria, whose face was downcast, her emotions clearly in turmoil. “They did it on the Deferral and Riparin recalls and they were about to make a fortune on Memoril. But somehow it all fell apart. Why? Why kill anybody? How?”

  “I won’t confirm or deny. You don’t need to know.”

  “But it’s all in the laptop, oh, wait.” Jill remembered, with a start. “The laptop and my notes are inside my car.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ve already obtained the laptop. It took some doing, out of the wreck, and we think we can get it operating again.”

  “Good.” Jill looked over at Victoria, but she sat slumped on the bed, crestfallen. Jill turned back to the FBI agents. “Special Agent Harrison, can’t you tell us if William was murdered, and who did it and why? It may be a case to you, but it’s Victoria’s life, her family. She needs to know, in the truest sense of the word.” Jill heard herself talking and realized that she was talking about herself, as well. “She’s going to spend years trying to figure out who her father was. That process is healing, but if she doesn’t know the truth, she can’t heal. I know, I’ve lived it.”

  Special Agent Harrison paused, his dark eyes shifting to Victoria, his expression less guarded. “Ms. Skyler, I’ll make you a promise. As soon as this is over, I’ll explain everything. You lost your father, but there are other victims, and more potential for danger. Look at what happened today, to you both. Let us finish our job, and it will all become clear.”

  “Okay,” Victoria said, after a moment.

  Jill gave in, only reluctantly. “But what about our safety? Are you protecting us all?”

  “Absolutely. We already have a team outside your house.”

  “How do we know that? Will we see them?”

  “No, not if they’re doing their job correctly. Trust me. We have you covered.”

  Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and a young FBI agent stuck his head inside the room. “Special Agent Harrison, sorry to interrupt you.”

  “What is it?” Special Agent Harrison turned to him.

  “You wanted to know if a call came in about Dr. Farrow’s patient, Rahul Choudhury.” The young FBI agent held out an open cell phone. “This is it.”

  “Yes,” Jill answered, her heart in her throat. “Please, let me have that phone.”

  Chapter Sixty-seven

  “Is it someone from my office?” Jill held her out her hand and tried not to notice it was trembling.

  “No, it’s a woman,” answered the young FBI agent. “She’s crying, and she has an Indian accent, so it’s hard to understand.”

  God, no. “Please give me the phone.”

  “Okay?” The young FBI agent looked at Special Agent Harrison, who nodded, annoyed.

  “Give it to her, would you? It’s her call.” Special Agent Harrison rose and walked to the door, and Special Agent Kavicka did the same, following him. “Dr. Farrow, we’ll leave and give you some privacy.”

  Victoria looked over. “Jill, should I go, too?”

  “No, please, stay, it’s okay.” Jill took the phone. “Dr. Farrow speaking.”

  “Oh my God, oh my God,” said a woman, talking fast, her voice choked with tears.

  “Who is this?” Jill asked, stricken. “Who am I speaking to?”

  “Oh my God, it’s Arami, Rahul’s auntie, oh my God, oh my God!”

  Jill braced herself. “What happened to Rahul? Please, tell me.”

  “Rahul is at the hospital now, Padma didn’t take the flight.” Arami cried happy tears. “He’s in stable condition, now. He’ll recover from his infection. He’ll live.”

  “Thank God.” Jill felt a gratitude and joy spreading through her very bloodstream, a sensation she couldn’t medically explain.

  “Yes, yes, Padma is with him, she just called me. My sister, her mother, is fine, too, in Mumbai.”

  “What happened? Did
Rahul’s grandfather reach Padma?”

  “No, no, no one could reach her, she had turned her phone off, for the plane.” Arami started to calm down, her words slowing and her tears subsiding. “Padma boarded the plane with Rahul and the boys. They were going to take off!”

  “Who stopped them?”

  “Someone went to the airport, they drove there. They got pulled over for a speeding ticket, then they got a police escort. They got Padma and the baby off the plane, right before it left for Mumbai.”

  “Who did that?”

  “Your office manager, Sheryl.”

  “Sheryl?” Jill asked, astounded.

  “She’s wonderful woman, that Sheryl. A wonderful woman.”

  “She is?” Jill caught herself. “I mean, yes, she is.”

  “I must go, talk to you later. Thanks again, so much.”

  “Thanks for calling, and please tell Padma to call me, if she wants.” Jill hung up just as there came a knock, on the door.

  Chapter Sixty-eight

  “Honey, are you all right?” Sam gathered Jill in his arms, and she hugged him back, her eyes brimming, her heart full of love.

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “Don’t cry. I’m here now, it’s okay now.” Sam held her close, and Steven stood behind him, looking like a mini-Sam, complete with thick hair, sharp blue eyes, tortoiseshell glasses, and tan Dockers.

  “Thanks for coming home.” Jill wiped her tears and got in control, and Sam released her, his pained gaze appraising her injuries.

  “What did they do to my girl? My God, it looks like it hurts, so much.”

  “No, it’s not too bad.”

  “I’ve got nothing left to kiss.”

  “My lips are fine,” Jill blubbered, but the words weren’t out before Sam gave her a soft, sweet kiss.

  “I love you,” he said softly.

  “I love you, too.” Jill realized suddenly that she hadn’t introduced Victoria and Steven. “Victoria, this is Steven Becker. Steven, Victoria Skyler.” She hesitated. “Stepson, meet ex-stepdaughter. Oh, whatever. Kids, meet each other.”

  Victoria smiled. “I’m not an ex-stepdaughter, I’m a stepdaughter.”

  Steven snorted. “And we’re hardly kids.”

  Sam laughed. “You’re both kids, to us. Forever.” He turned to Jill, leaned over, and kissed her again. “Let’s go home.”

  “Yes.” Jill thought they were the sweetest words ever. “Let’s.”

  “Victoria?” Sam straightened up, turning to her. “You’re coming home with us, I hope. We can all have dinner and try to decompress. I’m sure Megan would love to see you again.”

  Jill felt tears brimming again. She appreciated that Sam made the offer, but she was old enough to know they were still at an impasse. Sam would feel the same way, and it remained to be seen if they could agree on how to make a new family. If they couldn’t, there wasn’t going to be a wedding. Jill had come to understand that love didn’t answer the question of whether they should marry, but merely asked it. Love wasn’t the end, but the beginning.

  Victoria was beaming at Sam. “Thanks, but what do I do about school? I have class tomorrow.”

  “I think we can get you a doctor’s note,” Sam answered, with a crooked smile, then looked down at Jill.

  “Done,” she said, smiling back. She felt an overwhelming yearning to see Megan again and get everybody safe under one roof, her roof.

  On second thought, her greatest wish would be that someday, it would be their roof.

  Chapter Sixty-nine

  Jill was cleaning up after take-out pizza, in the kitchen with Sam, Steven, and Victoria, all of them waiting for Katie to bring Megan home. It was raining hard outside, another spring storm, making Beef shudder on his bed. Victoria had showered and changed into an old T-shirt and sweatpants that belonged to Megan, and Jill had on a pink cotton sweater, jeans, and clogs. Except for the bruises, bandages, and pain meds, she felt like Mom again.

  “Mom?” Megan called from the entrance hall, then entered the kitchen in her yellow sweats, gasping when she saw Jill’s face. “Mom! What happened to you? Your eye and forehead? Mom, oh my God!”

  “Come here, I’m fine.” Jill smiled, opening her arms for Megan, who came running to her like when she was a little girl.

  “Are you okay?” Megan hugged her tight. “What happened? Katie said it wasn’t that bad, but it is. You look like you got really hurt.”

  “I’m fine, and so is Victoria. We had a long day, but now it’s over.”

  “Nice face, Jill,” Katie said with a smile, coming into the room. She met Jill’s eye, and in one look, told her that she loved her.

  “Back at you.” Jill smiled. She had already told Katie everything on the phone. Not even the FBI could come between best friends.

  “Hello and good-bye, all.” Katie waved to everyone. “I gotta go. Much love!”

  “Bye and thanks, honey.” Jill kissed the top of Megan’s head as Katie left. “Want some pizza? I can microwave it.”

  “No, I ate.” Megan looked up, shaken. “Nothing can ever happen to you, Mom.”

  “It won’t.” Jill knew what she meant. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. So what happened? This is so weird! It’s like everything’s gone crazy all of a sudden.”

  “Go and sit.” Jill let her go, and Megan went to her stool at the kitchen island, setting down her cell phone. Sam and Steven stood by the counter, and Victoria sat next to Megan on the island.

  “Megan, it’s so good to see you,” Victoria said, giving Megan a hug. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too.” Megan smiled, worriedly. “Does your head hurt? Did you get stitches? This is so random. Jeez!”

  “I’m fine. We both are.”

  “Mom?” Megan turned back as her phone chimed a text alert, but she ignored it. “What happened to you guys? Tell me, I can’t even deal!”

  “The bottom line is that Victoria and I met up with some criminal types, and we got a little hurt, but we’re fine.”

  “What criminal types? Did they steal from you, like you were mugged?”

  “No. It was about William, but I’m not sure how yet.” Jill poured Megan a glass of water and set it down in front of her. “The police know all about it, and we’ll know more in a few days.”

  “Did somebody kill William?” Megan asked, then seemed to stiffen, bracing herself for the answer.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. The police will tell us as soon as they can.”

  “Where’s Abby? Why isn’t she home? Does she know?”

  “No, and she’ll be home soon.”

  “Jeez.” Megan turned to Victoria, touching her arm. “I know you feel sad about your Dad. I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks, and I’m sorry about the way I behaved at the memorial service. I know you loved him, too. We’re in this together, now.” Victoria offered her hand, and Megan accepted it, with a smile. Her cell phone chimed again, but she still ignored it.

  “I love you, Vick.”

  “I love you, too, Mega.”

  Jill watched them, touched. “One last thing, Megan. We have to keep this a secret. If anybody asks, we have to pretend that I was in a car accident and that’s how I got hurt. Don’t go into school tomorrow, and I’ll write you a note.”

  “I have a meet this weekend, on Saturday, but maybe we shouldn’t go.” Megan’s brow furrowed suddenly, and Jill thought her reaction was strange.

  “No, we can go. Don’t you want to? You’ve never missed a meet.”

  Megan hesitated. “Mom, there’s something I have to tell you.” Her phone chimed again, but she ignored it again. “You can’t do anything about it, though. Anything you do will only make it worse.”

  “Okay,” Jill said, surprised. “Tell me what happened.”

  “That boy I liked from swim club, Jake? He asked me to send him a picture of myself, so he could show his friends at his school. He said I was his girlfriend.” Megan picked up her water glas
s and took a gulp. “So I sent him a normal picture that Courtney took of me, but he photoshopped it to make it look like I was naked, like I sexted it to him.”

  Jill felt anger flare, but kept a lid on it. “How did he do that?”

  “He cut out my head and put it on a naked body and he sent it to all the guys on the boys team, and then all the girls got it, and now the whole club thinks I’m a slut.”

  “No, they don’t, honey.” Jill felt terrible for her. “No one thinks that.”

  Victoria added, “What a douche.”

  “I know, right?” Megan turned to Victoria. “Sorry, I feel so bad for you, about your Dad, and I have all this dumb stuff going on. It’s not as important, and I’m just so, well, lame.”

  “No, you’re not lame at all.” Victoria smoothed back Megan’s hair. “I can’t believe he did that. We’re in this together, right? We just said.”

  Megan looked back at Jill. “Mom, I’m too embarrassed to go to the meet because everybody knows. It’s a big, big mess, and I can’t even go back to the team. And they need me to win.”

  Jill was trying to get the facts. “Wait. When did this happen?”

  “Sunday, right before the meet. I think that’s why I had the panic attack, but I just didn’t want to tell you. I knew you’d want to call his parents or Coach Stash, and that would make everything worse. I’m sorry, I know you were all worried about me.”

  Jill blinked. She had assumed the panic attack was because of William’s death, Abby’s reappearance, and her own absence, but she had misdiagnosed her own daughter.

  “What do I do, Mom? I can’t go to the meet, and I can’t not go to the meet.”

  “I can’t talk to Coach Stash?”

  “No, you can’t. It’s embarrassing. The more you do, the more it’s a bigger deal, and the naked picture will go everywhere and everyone will think I’m a total slut.”

  Jill cringed for her. “But if I call his school—”

  “No! That only makes me look dumber, don’t you see?”

  “Yes,” Jill answered, because she did, finally. It was a no-win.