Deadly Valentine

by Jenna Harte

  “I hope you didn't mess up my hair,” she said when he finally gave them a chance to breath.

  “The hair is fine, but the lipstick could use some work.” He dipped down, catching her lower lip between his teeth and tugging.

  She was seriously reconsidering going to work, when there was a pounding at her door.

  “Listen to what you do to my heart,” he said.

  She laughed until she heard Daniel's voice calling as the pounding started again.

  Jack rolled his eyes. “Is sex illegal in this town too?”

  "Something's wrong." She scrambled away from Jack's grasp. She grabbed Jack's clothes from the floor and tossed them to him. “Get dressed.”

  “Why?” Jack slipped his hands underneath his head, making it clear he wasn't planning on moving anywhere. “I'd rather just hide in here out of his way.”

  She gave him an irritated look. “He knows you're here. Your car is in the driveway.”

  “So?” He threw the shirt she'd tossed to him back on the floor. “Are you ashamed of what we did?”

  “No.”

  “He's going to find out eventually.”

  “But we don't need to rub it in his face,” she snapped as she tossed his shirt back to him.

  The pounding continued. “Just a minute,” she called.

  He stared at her for a moment then acquiesced. Gathering his clothes he headed to the bathroom. Before she could pull the door closed, his hand stopped it. “You'll need to tell him sometime. This isn't a secret affair we're having here, Tess. “

  “He doesn't need to know right now, though.” She tugged the door, closing it on Jack's irritated face.

  Tess fixed her clothes, and checked her hair in the mirror. Jack was right about the lipstick. She wiped the smears with her hand and opened the door.

  “Daniel-”

  “Where is he?” Daniel said pushing his way into the house.

  “What's going on?”

  “I know he's here, his car is in the drive.”

  “He's in the bathroom.” When he started towards the hall, Tess grabbed his arm and put her body in his way. For a minute she thought he was going to walk over her. “What's going on?”

  “I need to talk to him." She couldn't remember hearing his voice filled with such venom or his face ravaged somewhere between rage and pain.

  “What happened?” she asked again. He only looked at her, or maybe it was through her. “Daniel, you're scaring me? What's wrong?”

  “My dad was attacked last night.”

  “Oh God, is he alright?” It couldn't be good she thought. Not with Daniel this distraught.

  “He's in the hospital,” he said trying to push past her.

  “Daniel!” She stopped him again. “Tell me what happened. What about Helen?”

  “He was attacked at home. And the house was set on fire. They're alive only because she smelled the smoke.”

  “They're alive.” She wanted to feel relief, but Daniel's emotions wouldn't let her. “Are they going to be alright?”

  “Mom is fine.” He broke from her again. “Valentine! I need to talk to you.”

  If Helen was fine, then maybe Tom wasn't. She grabbed at Daniel again, wanting to get the details when it occurred to her why Daniel was livid. He thought Jack was responsible.

  "Daniel, Jack didn't do this, wouldn't do this.”

  “I want to talk to him.”

  “You know I can't let you do that.”

  He whirled on her, the rage once directed at Jack now piercing down on her. “Always the lawyer,” he said with a sneer. “Dad could die and all you care about is your job.”

  “Is there a problem?” Jack said as he entered the room.

  Daniel pushed Tess to the side. The move caused Jack's eyes to flare.

  “Where were you last night between 2:30 and 4 in the morning?” Daniel demanded as he strode towards Jack.

  “You don't need to answer that,” Tess said. Jack gave her a questioning look. She knew the situation could be resolved easily. After all, she was his alibi. At the same time Daniel was treading on thin ice. Taking it on himself to question Jack could turn out badly for the case and therefore him as well. And, she had to admit, he wasn't in the mood to hear the news that Jack had stayed the night with her. “Daniel this is beyond your authority-”

  “Quiet Tess,” Daniel snapped.

  “Daniel I'm protecting you. Coming here and questioning Jack in this manner will only make things worse for you and your family.”

  “Do you think all I care about is a case? I'm not like you Tess. I can't close my heart and life off to those I love-”

  “Careful Daniel,” Jack warned.

  “My father is fighting for his life.”

  “If you want justice, if you want to help Tom, you can't do this,” Tess said. She moved to him, trying to get him to look at her. Hoping she could remind him of their friendship, of her love for his family. But he ignored her.

  “Where were you?”

  “Daniel-”

  “I was in bed,” Jack answered.

  “Can anyone verify that?”

  “Yes.” Jack held Daniel's gaze.

  “I'll need her name,” Daniel said casting a satisfied glance at Tess. She realized he believed he was exposing Jack as a philanderer.

  “I can't do that,” Jack answered, but the look he gave her told her the he was annoyed at having to keep their night together a secret.

  “Stop, Daniel. Please.” Tess was nearly begging. If he was like this now, how would he take the truth? She felt certain that in this case, the truth wasn't going to set Jack free.

  “Afraid to have Tess learn the truth about you?”

  “Considering I just admitted I was with someone, she already knows.”

  Daniel stood silent, studying Jack for a moment. Slowly he turned, and Tess could see in his eyes, he was coming to the truth.

  “He was with me. I'm sorry-”

  “All night?” Daniel voice was so distant, so dark, Tess felt she didn't know him.

  “Yes.”

  She was drained and hoped that Daniel would just take the news and leave. Instead he pulled his anger together again. “You slept with your client? Isn't there a rule or a code of ethics against that kind of behavior?”

  “Daniel. Stop.” Jack's voice was beyond warning. It was a promise.

  “Or maybe you're protecting him. Maybe you've been working with him this whole time, helping him get away with murder.”

  “You know that's not true,” Tess managed. But the look in his eyes made her wonder if he really did think that.

  “The more I think about it, the more sense it makes.”

  “Then take it to Detective Johnson,” Jack said. “We don't need to listen to your petty jealous accusations.”

  Daniel shook his head at Tess, “You know what this makes you?”

  Tess' heart couldn't decide which she felt more, hurt or angry at Daniel's insinuation. She never would have guessed that he could turn on her so cruelly.

  “Back off,” Jack said, moving quickly toward Daniel.

  “You going to hit me Jack?” Daniel's voice suggested that he hoped Jack would. “Assaulting a police officer is against the law.”

  “I don't see a police officer. I see a bully.” The two men stood, toe to toe. “Your pain is clouding your judgment. Why don't you leave before you do something you'll regret.”

  The tension was impenetrable, but Tess made the effort to diffuse the situation before the two of them ended up in jail. “Both of you stop it!” She gave Jack a light push, hoping he had enough control to back off.

  “Daniel,” she said again trying to get him to look at her. But when he did, she saw contempt. “You're parents need you. Why don't we go together-”

  “You. Stay. Away. From. My. Family.” He accentuated each word with a point of his finger into her face. Each poke was like a sharp stab to her heart.

  With one last look of disgust, he left.

/>   Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Tess's legs felt like cooked noodles. The only thing preventing her from dropping to the floor was Jack's arms around her.

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  “I don't know.” Her mind was in a whirl. The only family she really had was in danger of dying. She couldn't get the way Daniel looked at her out of her mind. Like she was a tramp.

  “Hey,” Jack said lifting her chin with the crook of his finger. “Don't let him turn last night into something sordid.”

  She shook her head. “I've never seen him like that. Would have never guessed he could be like that.”

  “Fear and pain can do things to a man,” Jack said. “But it doesn't mean he can behave like that.”

  “I need to go to them.” She would defy Daniel and hope his parents didn't hold the same opinion of her.

  “I'll take you.”

  “No. I think under the circumstances I should go alone.”

  “Are you sure? Can you trust Daniel to keep his cool?”

  “I'll be fine.” She said it, although she wasn't sure she believed it.

  “Call me if you need me.”

  She nodded.

  “I'll stop by your office later to check on you.”

  She could only nod again.

  “Tess?”

  She lifted her eyes to his. He looked like he was struggling for the right words. Finally he said, “Don't let him ruin what we've got here.”

  She tried to reassure him, but failed. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss, and then gathered her close. She liked his warmth and strength and yet, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

  ~~~~

  Because she wasn't immediate family, Tess wasn't allowed to see Tom at the hospital. It was a harsh reminder that her ties to Helen and Tom were tenuous. It made her regret her last words to him at the funeral. Even worse was the guilt over the thoughts she'd had about him. He'd lied to her, she was sure of it. But it had been wrong of her to question him and his motives especially at the funeral of his friend, his family. She'd seen the disappointment on his face. It was the last image she had of him.

  “God please let him be alright,” she said as she took a seat in the waiting room hoping to see Helen.

  She thumbed through yet another issue of Southern Life Magazine when Helen found her. Tess tossed the magazine aside and rushed to her. “How is he?”

  “Tess, I'm so glad you're here. He'll live, but they aren't sure if there will be brain damage.”

  “Brain damage?”

  “Didn't Daniel explain?”

  Tess didn't want to go over her last encounter with Daniel. “He didn't give me details. He was upset.”

  “Yes. He's taking this hard.”

  “Is he here?” Tess worried that any moment Daniel would throw her out and turn his mother against her.

  “He'll be here soon. He had a few things to take care of.”

  “Why don't I get us some coffee and you can tell me what happened.”

  “I don't want coffee.” Helen sat down on one of the orange plastic vinyl chairs. Her head fell back against the wall.

  Tess sat next to her. “What can I do?”

  “Just being here is a help.” Helen's hand reached out and squeezed Tess'.

  “What happened?”

  “I was asleep. I had my ear plugs in. Tom's snoring has gotten so bad lately...” Helen took a deep breath. “If I hadn't had them I'd have heard something.” Tess gave her hand a squeeze hoping it would give her the strength to continue.

  “The only reason I woke is that I smelled something burning. I didn't hear the smoke detector until I took my ear plugs out. I went downstairs and saw the smoke coming from Tom's office. I called for him but he didn't answer.” Helen took a tissue from her purse. She dabbed at her eyes and rubbed her nose. “I looked in his office and he was lying on the floor, bleeding. His desk was on fire. I went to help him, but there was someone there.”

  “Did he hurt you?”Tess asked alarmed that Helen met her intruder face-to-face. “Are you alright?”

  “He looked at me, picked up something off the floor and ran past me out the door, like I wasn't even there. Maybe I wasn't,” Helen said as she looked at Tess. “I didn't even try to stop him.”

  “Thank goodness you didn't. He could have killed you.”

  “Who would do this?”

  Tess shook he head. “I don't know. You didn't recognize him?”

  “No. He was all in black. With a mask. It was like what you see in the movies only it wasn't a movie, was it?"

  "No. I'm sorry,” Tess wished could say more, help more.

  Helen blew her nose. “It must have to do with Asa. Tom is a sweet, gentle man. No one wanted to hurt him. But he worked with Asa, who was never sweet or gentle. And he was murdered.”

  That wasn't the only thing they had in common Tess thought. Both had head injuries and their office's set on fire. But what had the assailant picked up before he ran out?

  “Do you know what the attacker took?”

  “No. It was broken though. He had to pick it up in pieces. It wasn't big, maybe the size of a big book.” The moment finally became too much for her and she dropped her head into her hands and wept.

  “I'm so sorry,” Tess pulled her close and realized Helen was still in her robe. “Why don't you let me pick up some clothes for you?” Tess wondered how damaging the fire was and if her clothes were wearable. If so, she'd go to the mall pick up a few things for her.

  “I don't know.”

  “You don't want Tom to see you out in your bathrobe do you?” Tess said pushing Helen's hair from her face.

  Helen gave her weak smile. "I guess not."

  “I'll pack some things up for you now and later you can come stay at my place.”

  “I'd like to have a few things, but I'm going to stay at the house.”

  “But the fire...”

  “Not my house. My dad came by earlier.”

  Tess nodded that she understood. “Are you sure?” Tess knew the home didn't hold many fond memories for Helen.

  “Yes. I think dad and I need each other now.”

  Tess wrapped her arms around Helen. “I'll be back soon with your things.”

  ~~~~

  The arson investigators were at the house when Tess arrived. There were streaks of black rising along the side of the home where Tom's office was located, but the rest of the home looked untouched by the fire.

  She approached one of the investigators and explained who she was and why she was there. He agreed to let her in as long as she stayed away from Tom's office. She made her way towards the stairs. The home reeked of smoke. Dark lines streaked the walls and ceiling in the hall. The office had yellow tape blocking the doorway. While she promised not to go in, she didn't say she wouldn't peek.

  Tom's desk had taken the brunt of the fire. It looked charred, as though it would fall into a pile of ash with a single touch. On the desk, pencils stuck out of the metal cup like gnarled licorice. His laptop was open, but much of the casing had melted.

  The fire had spread from his desk to the file cabinets and bookcases behind it. The rest of the room was black with soot, but hadn't burned.

  On the floor were reddish spots she thought were blood. Her heart broke to think of him battling an assailant while his office was in flames. Knowing Tom, he'd have been more concerned about Helen. He'd told her once that having Asa as a client made him wealthy, but winning Helen's heart had made him rich. Rich was better.

  Scanning the room, she tried to figure out what the assailant had taken. Helen had said the item was broken or was in pieces. She couldn't see anything that looked distinguishable in the charred remains of the room.

  “I thought you were getting things from upstairs.”

  Tess looked over her shoulder to the arson investigator. “Yes. I'm sorry. I just had to look.”

  “They're lucky it wasn't worse,” he said scanning the room. He had a strong fit body, but the lines on
his face and silver hair let her know that he was in his late to mid-fifties.

  “Have you determined what started it?”

  “You mean aside from the guy that poured gas and lit a match?”

  “Right. Of course.” Now she looked like an idiot when her goal had been to learn what she could about the assailant. “Mrs. Showalter said that the man who did this took pieces of something with him.”

  The investigator's brows drew in.

  “I'm just trying to help,” she said by way of explanation. “I'm an attorney."

  “The police took something that looked like a computer.”

  “A computer?”

  “Probably one of those notebook types. They had some keys and something that looked like a cover plate for a battery.”

  Tess looked back into the room, to where a laptop sat melted into the desk.

  “The pieces were over there,” he said pointing to the blood soaked into the rug. “I think they suspect the guy hit him with it. That's how it broke.”

  “What about that laptop?” Tess asked.

  “That one is now a part of the desk. The police are going to get an expert in here today to see if they can salvage any important parts that might have information on why Mr. Showalter was attacked.”

  “You said the police think he hit Tom with the laptop. Could that cause brain damage?” Tess asked.

  “I don't know. But the base of an iron lamp could. The police took that too.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Tess gathered some clothes for Helen. While the rest of the house was untouched physically by the fire, the smoke reached everywhere. She dropped Helen's clothes off at a same-day dry cleaner and picked up new toiletries from the drug store. On her way back to her office, Tess called Helen leaving a voice message that she'd deliver the clothes once they were finished being cleaned.

  Tess was relieved to step out of the bitter cold into the warmth of her office. While the sun was shining outside, its heat failed to reach the earth. It was barely the first week of February. There was still a lot of cold left until spring. Tess headed straight for the coffee pot hoping a piping cup would take off the chill that penetrated her bones.