Jude may have his flaws, but he is not that bad, Marseille thought. No matter what anyone says. No wonder he told me these people were dead. What kind of people call their son a monster?
“He’s a master of manipulation,” Ed snorted. “Obviously he has you fooled too, honey but your husband is a terrible person. You should get away from him before it’s too late.”
“Why?” Marseille demanded defensively. “What makes him so bad? I have never seen such a side of Jude.”
She tried to reconcile what the Galvins were saying and what River believed about Jude, but she couldn’t see it.
He may be a liar but he’s not a psychopath, she thought firmly. And I refuse to believe that he is no matter what.
“Babe, let them finish,” River urged. “They know him better than anyone.”
“Babe?” Ed echoed sardonically. River and Marseille blushed in unison, but River quickly changed the topic.
“What happened between you and Jude? Why does he tell everyone you’re dead?”
“Jude never forgave us for sending him away,” Erin sighed. “He was determined to make us pay for it.”
The memory seemed difficult for her to process and she took a shuddering breath.
“First Princess…” she whispered, tears filling her eyes and Ed interrupted.
“Okay, Erin,” he said. “No need to think about Princess.”
He turned and scowled at them.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Ed asked, suddenly angry. “If you believe Jude is such a saint, why did you come here?”
“Mr. Galvin, we have driven from New Hampshire to learn the truth about Jude,” River said earnestly, leaning forward in his seat. “Marseille has been married to him for five years, I served in the army with him for two, and we know there is another side to him. We want to know how dark that side of him truly is.”
“Why?” Ed demanded. “It looks like you have already moved on, little lady.”
Marseille felt a fission of guilt course through her.
No, she told herself firmly. I am doing the right thing by being with River. Jude is a liar and based our relationship on fantasy. I only need to be here for absolution. I have no reason to feel ashamed.
“There is much more to the story than what you see, sir,” River muttered. “Much, much more.”
“There always is,” Erin murmured.
“Is there anything you’re willing to tell us about him?” River asked, anger lacing his voice. “Or did you just agree to this meeting to gawk at Marseille?”
Ed scoffed.
“Fine, you want to know about Jude? I’ll tell you.”
He took a deep, angry breath and turned watery green eyes on them, his irises blazing with venom.
“As I said, there was always something wrong with that boy,” Ed started.
“We tried everything we knew to tame the evil in him,” Erin added and Marseille felt herself bristle at the word. Wisely, she said nothing and waited for them to continue.
“When he was sixteen, he came back from boarding school, and he was worse than he was when he had left. He was more charming, no trace of the anger which seemed to consume him but suddenly strange things started happening.”
“What strange things?” Marseille prompted uneasily. “Who was Princess?”
Erin’s lower lip quivered, but Ed answered.
“Princess was our toy poodle. She was found beheaded, her body placed on our bedspread and her tiny face put on a stake in our garden.”
Marseille shivered, her eyes wide.
“How do you know that Jude did something that awful?” she gasped. “We have a dog! He’s never harmed a hair on Marcus’ head!”
Erin smiled humorlessly.
“Because Jude always made small jokes about it. ‘Oh, poor Princess lost her head’ or ‘I guess Princess won’t be chasing her tail anymore.’ It was revolting, but we had no proof to lock him up. We just prayed he would get better.”
“Obviously he didn’t?” River asked, shaking his head, his face is pale as gruesome image played in his mind.
“Other animals in the neighborhood began to disappear, turn up in the same fashion – dismembered and decapitated. Jude refused to finish high school and spent all his time around here, doing God knows what when we were at work. We just wanted him to turn eighteen, so we could kick him out.”
Ed paused, his liquid eyes suddenly haunted.
“But he seemed to know what was coming and he brought Corey home a few months before his eighteenth birthday. She was pregnant.”
“Corey?”
“Yes…she was fifteen, and she looked a lot like you, missy. That dark red hair and big brown eyes. Her parents had thrown her out of the house after learning she was knocked up and she landed on our doorstep. We couldn’t turn her away, but we had a plan. We would have Jude locked up for statutory rape when he turned eighteen.”
A dark silence fell over the room.
“What happened?” Marseille whispered. “What did he do?”
Erin stared at her wrinkled hands for a long moment, and Ed seemed to be catching his breath.
“On the morning of Jude’s eighteenth birthday, Corey did not come down for breakfast. She was six months pregnant, and Jude was all smiles at the table. I knew there was something terribly wrong from the moment he sat down.”
Tears filled Erin’s eyes, and she shook her head.
“He leered at me, and my blood turned cold. ‘Aren’t you going to sing happy birthday to me, mom?’ he asked in this tone of voice which made my skin crawl. I offered him a small smile, but I was afraid of him by then. Any kind gesture pained me because I felt he was trying to kill me always.”
Marseille found she was hanging off Erin’s every word and she felt River reach over to grab her hand. He squeezed it reassuringly, but it did little to alleviate the dread she was feeling in her gut.
“I bid him a happy birthday and asked where Corey was. He just shrugged, but the smirk on his face told me everything I needed to know. Like in a dream, I turned and ran up the stairs toward the room they shared…”
Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she buried her face in her hands, unable to continue.
“There was blood everywhere. Corey was lying in a red pool, and at first, I couldn’t tell from where she had been hurt.”
A sob escaped Erin’s lips.
“Jude had followed me upstairs, and he lounged in the doorway, chewing on an English muffin, his eyes devoid of emotion.”
“What happened?” Marseille whispered. “What did he do?”
“Apparently nothing,” Ed replied. “The doctor said she had slit her own wrists. She lost the baby, and it was too late to do anything to save her. Jude just carried about his day afterward as if a fly had been swatted by a newspaper. Didn’t ask about Corey or the baby.”
Marseille shook her head, rising slowly to her feet.
“She was a pregnant girl, in over her head,” Marseille murmured. “None of this means anything. You can’t prove that Jude had anything to do with that. He doesn’t handle emotional situations very well.”
All eyes stared at her in disbelief.
“Why are you still defending him?” River demanded. “How much more proof do you need?”
“None of this is proof!” Marseille snapped. “Fine, maybe Jude is not the nicest guy but to besmirch his name like that…”
“Marseille – “
“No! It’s one thing that he lied, but I won’t believe the man I married is a sociopath. He’s my husband!”
Ed chortled.
“No, honey, he’s not,” he replied, shaking his head sadly. “He’s not your husband.”
Marseille stared at him uncomprehendingly.
“I have a marriage certificate. We were legally married.”
Erin sighed deeply.
“You may have a marriage certificate, Marseille but your marriage is not legal. Jude married Corey before she tried to kill herself. He knew he w
as facing statutory rape charges and he wanted to beat them.”
God, more lies, she thought, her head swimming. He never told me he was married before. Could he really be as bad as they are claiming? Would he have done something to me eventually?
“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked. “So, what if he married Corey?”
The Galvins looked at each other and then at her in confusion.
“Because Corey is still alive, honey,” Ed told her. “She’s in a hospital, completely brain dead but she is still breathing and therefore still legally Jude’s wife.”
River gasped and touched her arm.
“Your union is void. You never were legally married to Jude. And you should count your lucky stars that you didn’t meet the same fate as Corey.”
Suddenly River jumped up, and he looked at Marseille in a panic.
“We have to go. Right now!” he told her urgently. “Thank you for everything, Mr. and Mrs. Galvin.”
“Walk away from that boy, honey and never look back!” Ed yelled after she and Marseille nodded dumbly, following River outside.
“We have to get back to Manchester. You may be safe, but I have a terrible feeling that Jude’s girlfriend is about to meet a similar fate to Corey.”
Chapter Ten
Jude had not slept his fury mounting as he envisioned Marseille in the arms of another man.
Who is he? Where is she?
Those two questions kept playing over in his mind like a cuckoo clock of insanity.
She did not respond to his texts, and her phone was off when he called.
After she had left the house the previous evening, he knew he was losing her.
It was the first time he had ever been certain she would not return to him if she walked out the door.
Corey thought she was leaving too, he remembered. She didn’t get very far.
By the time he had pulled out the driveway, he had lost her, and he drove around Manchester, hoping to catch a glimpse of her blue car, but his search proved fruitless.
She went to be with him, he thought, his rage turning his sight red. When she gets back, I will deal with her. She can’t leave me. Not after what I have done to be with her.
Jude had been consumed with this inexplicable sense that he was being watched.
It was a feeling he had often had after coming home from Afghanistan.
River, is that you? Mocking me from beyond the grave?
It felt like his old comrade, and if Jude inhaled, he swore he could smell the man in the air. He thought of the broken wedding picture in the dining room as if a spirit had knocked it over.
You must not let the paranoia overwhelm you. River is dead. He can’t mock you anymore. You have River’s life, and he is a pile of bones beneath a Qalla in the middle of nowhere.
The thought did not appease him as it usually did.
As the night turned to dawn, Jude stared out the window, expecting Marseille’s car to pull up. Another thought occurred to him.
What if there is no other man? What if she found out about Norah?
He had plans to take care of Norah the following day but what if he was too late? What if the vindictive bitch already told Marseille about them, about the baby? It would explain Marseille’s coldness and isolation, something she had never done before.
Everyone wants to have babies with me except my wife, he thought furiously. He knew he should have taken care of Norah the minute she threatened him.
Marcus barked at him, and for a fleeting second, the big black Lab turned into Princess, the toy poodle.
Jude shook his head, willing himself to think rationally.
“What are you barking at?” he hissed at the dog. Marcus whined and shifted uncomfortably.
“You need to go out?” he demanded angrily. “Stupid mutt.”
He made no move to let the suffering animal out.
“Mom loves you more than me, doesn’t she, Princess?”
Marcus half growled and seemed to sigh.
“If you weren’t around, I bet you she would be forced to like me.”
Marcus barked again and jumped back and forth, begging to be let outside.
“Okay, girl,” he murmured, leaning forward to stroke his sleek fur. “I’ll take care of you.”
He would take care of all of them, one at a time.
“You have to drive faster, Marseille,” River told her in a low voice. “We have to get back to Manchester before Jude does something unpredictable.”
Marseille’s lips were pursed together, and she did not respond.
“You are having a hard time accepting this, I know but there is something I never told you either. I didn’t want to worry you then, and now it just sounds like I am making up stories to make Jude seem worse.”
Marseille eyed him suspiciously.
“What is it?”
“When we were in training, Jude developed some fixation on you very early on.”
“What fixation?” she asked, her eyebrows raising. River inhaled deeply.
“It started with making little comments about how pretty you are, but eventually he started making sexually explicit comments. He stole a picture you had given me of you, and I finally laid him out after we got married. I thought I had ended whatever fascination he had with you, but I don’t think I did. I think he always harbored feelings for you.”
“What picture?” she breathed.
“It was the one where you were on Camel’s Hump mountain. You gave it to me just before I went off to training and I used to keep it in the book I was reading. One day it was gone, and one of the other men said they saw him with it.”
Prickles tore down Marseille’s arms, and she bit her lower lip.
She was suddenly beginning to see what Jude was and what he had always been.
Her foot lowered on the gas pedal, and suddenly they were flying through the interstate, River settling back to stare at her worriedly.
“I hope we’re not too late.”
They still had three hours to go.
“Baby! What are you doing here?”
Jude grinned and waltzed into the apartment, holding a bouquet of flowers in his gloved hands, grinning at the tiny blonde.
“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see you,” he told her, kissing her cheek. He placed the flowers on the table and pressed his face against her stomach.
“How’s my little one?” he asked smoothly, and Norah chuckled.
“Making me throw up about half a dozen times a day but better than a couple weeks ago. I wish you’d told me you were coming,” Norah said. “I don’t have anything to feed you, and I have to leave for work in ten minutes.”
Jude pouted.
“You can’t go to work today!” he told her. “I left Marseille today. You have to help me settle in.”
Norah shook her head.
“I can’t, Jude. I should work when I can. It’s not exactly a job with benefits, and I need to save every penny I can until the baby comes.”
Jude stared at her with wide eyes.
“You have me now,” he told her tenderly. “You don’t need to work so hard.”
She grinned at him and shook her head again.
“I like working,” she replied, winking. “It keeps me busy.”
Jude’s smile froze on his lips. It was not going as he had planned.
“You mean you like flirting with men for money,” he retorted before he could stop himself. A spark of jealousy coursed through him as he imagined Norah draping herself over the patrons, pushing her bosom into their faces for tips.
Norah snorted.
“Oh yeah. The senior citizens who come into the bar are tons of fun,” she chortled. “I love the way men old enough to be my grandpa look at my ass.”
“I bet you do,” Jude snarled, suddenly advancing on her, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back. “You’re staying here today.”
Fear colored Norah’s eyes, and she nodded.
“Oka
y, babe, no problem,” she replied quickly. “Whatever you want is fine.”
Jude smiled then and released her arm, pushing her away from him.
“I don’t want to be rough with you, Norah but I was really looking forward to spending time with you today. I left my wife for you,” he told her plaintively, and she forced a smile.
“I know! I am so happy,” she told him but Jude could sense falsehood in her tone.
“Are you?” he asked. “Why don’t you seem happy?”
She stepped back as he advanced, her back against the desk.
“I am happy,” she insisted. “It’s just what I wanted. For us to be together.”
Jude cocked his head to the side and evaluated her expression.
She’s going to put up a fight, he thought suddenly. It won’t look like a suicide if she struggles. I have to find another way to get rid of her.
“I thought we could have a bath, maybe order a pizza?” Jude suggested, folding his arms across his barrel chest. “How does that sound?”
Norah bobbed her head in agreement.
“Why don’t you go run the tub and I’ll order the food. Mushrooms and pepperoni?”
“Sounds good,” he replied, turning away from her.
He heard the drawer open too late and as he whirled, he was facing the barrel of a semi-automatic pistol.
“Oh, kinky!” Jude laughed tightly. “But let’s put that away before someone gets hurt.”
“You’re something else, Jude,” Norah hissed. “A real piece of work.”
Jude scowled, his jaw locking in annoyance.
“Stop screwing around, Norah and put that away. It isn’t even loaded.”
“You must think I’m an idiot,” she snapped angrily, drawing toward him. “I gave you a chance, and you screwed it up royally.”
“What did I screw up?” Jude retorted. “I’m here, aren’t I? Why are you waving a gun in my face?”
Norah smirked and pointed for him to sit.
“Are you going to pretend that you’re not here to kill me?”
Jude tried to paint a shocked look on his face, but there was something about Norah’s gleaming eyes which told him she knew all.
“Why didn’t you just take the opportunity I offered you? I could have given you everything you ever wanted, and you’re too stupid to see that.”
The Lost Seal: A Seal Romance Page 10
