by Lisa Boone
“He’s not going to lie to you,” Sarah said turning to glare at Jamie. “He’s going to tell you the truth. Fletcher insulted me and Jamie was simply defending me.”
“I wasn’t defending you,” he said quickly.
Sarah blinked in surprise. “You weren’t?”
“No.” He turned his attention to the table. “The guy started running his mouth after you left, calling me a bunch of names and I got sick of it. That’s all. It had nothing to do with you.”
“Oh,” Sarah said softly. “I thought …” She unconsciously touched her cheek. “What happened to his cheek?”
Jamie kept his eyes averted. “He must have fell against something. I don’t have a clue what happened.”
With a sigh, Ashton motioned to the door. “Sarah, why don’t you step outside and let us talk.”
Jamie finally looked up as Sarah stood. “Wait, Sarah. Don’t go yet.” A pained look crossed his face. “Look, I messed up last night. I shouldn’t have fought with Fletcher like I did because now … I can’t protect you anymore.”
“Don’t worry about me right now,” Sarah said taking his hands. “Let’s just focus on getting you out of here.”
Jamie slipped his hands out from underneath hers and placed them underneath the table. “Sarah, you need to listen to me. You need to get out of town. I have some money you can use—”
“I don’t need your money,” Sarah said.
“—I’ve been saving it for years. Long before I went to prison. I want you to get it and disappear. Don’t use your credit cards and don’t tell anyone where you’re going. Just get away from here as fast as you can.” He reached for Ashton’s pencil and file with his cuffed hands. “Go to this address,” he said, writing on top of the file. “You’ll find an old barn that looks like it’s about to fall down and a dirt road next to it. The road will lead you to a gate. Just break the padlock and enter. You’ll eventually come to an abandoned house with stables in the back. In the largest stable, there’s a hidden cellar at the far end of the stable. You’ll find the key to the cellar in the stable. I have money hidden in the cellar.” He pushed the file towards her. “Here are the directions to the house and the key.”
“I’m not taking your money,” Sarah said, “and I’m not leaving you.”
“Look,” Jamie hissed, “I don’t know why Fletcher’s after you and until I figure out what’s going on, I need you to be safe.”
Crossing her arms, Ashton leaned back in her chair. “Just how do you think you’re going to be able to figure out what’s going on from behind bars? Your probation officer is outside.”
“No, they have to give me bail,” Jamie interrupted her, worry and fear coloring his voice. “I have to get out. Whoever it is that wants to hurt Sarah is out there and I can’t help her if I’m locked up in here.”
“We know who’s after me,” Sarah said. “It’s this Fletcher person. I’m sure of it.” Sarah frowned as she looked from Jamie to Ashton and back again. “Why does no one believe me?”
“Sarah,” Jamie said, “Fletcher’s a contract killer. Someone hired him to go after you. In order to make this stop, I need to get to the person paying him.”
Sarah threw up her hands. “Why would anyone hire a hit man to kill me? What have I done? I kind of understand why Phoebe and Kristen are being targeted. Whoever killed Robin obviously doesn’t want them looking too closely at her murder. I get that, but I’m not involved in their investigation. I have nothing to do with it so why send Fletcher after me?”
“Perhaps you saw or heard something at that Valentine’s Day party you went to. That’s when all this started.” Ashton opened her file on Jamie and pulled out a picture of Robin O’Malley. “Is this Robin?”
“That’s her,” Jamie said barely looking at the photo.
Ashton set the picture aside. “Did you talk to anyone about Robin’s murder that night? Perhaps you heard something the killer didn’t think you should know.”
“I can’t imagine what,” Sarah said.
“What did you talk about that night?” Ashton asked.
Sarah’s gaze flickered to Jamie. “Mostly about him,” she said before quickly adding, “Kristen thought I knew where he was.”
“Why would she think that?” Jamie asked.
“I think Brian told them that you liked me or something,” she said dismissively before changing the subject. “Let’s see…” She blew her bangs off her forehead as she tried to remember. “I spoke to Kristen and offered to get her in touch with a detective. She ignored me. Then I spoke to Danny and Moose who told me that you,” she said pointing her finger at Jamie, “pled guilty for murdering Robin. Then I went into the kitchen. That was the first time I saw the green laser.”
Jamie sat up straighter. “What green laser?”
“Someone kept pointing a laser at me. Freaked me out. Then Emily came in and told me everything she learned about Patrick O’Malley. After that, I went to the stables. That’s when I noticed the green laser again. That’s when I kicked off my shoes and ran to the stables. Once there, I talked to Phoebe for a while. She thought it might have been Nathan’s kid brother playing with the laser.”
“Fletcher typically uses a green laser sight on his gun,” Jamie said. “Once in the stables, what did you and Phoebe talk about?”
Sarah thought for a moment. “You,” she said. “Shoes. You. Robin. You again. Horses. You. Robin. You some more.” Noticing Jamie’s stare, her face turned bright red. “It’s not like I talk about you all the time. I just want you to know that. They are the ones that kept bringing you up.”
“It sounds like Fletcher set his sights on you before you went to the stables. Did Kristen say something to you about her sister? Or maybe Danny or Moose? Something strange?”
“Kristen didn’t talk to me about Robin at all. I was just there when she told Brian she was going to put the TV show on hold and hire a private detective.” She closed her eyes, trying to remember what Danny had said. “Danny mostly talked about you.” She paused, her eyes opening. “That was the first time I ever saw him being rude to Kristen though.”
Jamie looked surprised. “Danny was rude to Kristen? Why?”
“He told me last night that right around Christmas, he overheard Kristen and Phoebe talking about a phone call they received from Robin the night she died. Apparently, Robin called them to come pick her up that night and they didn’t go. He blames them for her death. Thinks they conspired with you to kill her.”
Jamie’s face darkened. “Robin called them? She actually spoke to them?”
Ashton hurriedly began flipping through her file. “According to the police report of Robin’s death, Kristen said that the last time she spoke to her sister was at dinner that night. There were four phone calls made that night from the pub. The first call was to your cell phone. The next two were to her house, but no one from the household remembered the phone ringing or speaking to her. The police figured that when she couldn’t reach you on your cell, she must have gotten hold of you at her house,” she said glancing at Jamie. “You then drove to the pub and killed her.”
“I didn’t kill her and I wasn’t anywhere near Bellemeade that night, so, I couldn’t have been the one to take those phone calls. Look, Robin left a message on my voice mail saying she needed to talk to me and to meet her at the pub. I saw the message an hour later on my way home and decided to stop off at the pub to see if she was still there. That’s when I found her body. Someone hit me on the head a few seconds later and knocked me out cold. When I woke up, the police were there pointing their guns at me.”
“You said she made four phone calls that night?” Sarah asked her sister. “If the first was to Jamie and the other two to her sisters, who was the fourth call to?”
Ashton said flipping the page. “The Howard Hotel ten minutes away from the pub.”
“Why would she call a hotel?” Sarah asked.
Ashton flipped another page over. “According to the clerk, Robin was
looking for a place to stay and called to see if they had a room available. She probably decided to stay at the hotel when she couldn’t get anyone to pick her up and take her back home. Unfortunately, she died before she could get there.”
Jamie scowled at the table. “I can’t believe Kristen and Phoebe talked to her that night and never said a word.”
“At least you now know who she talked to at home that night,” Sarah said. “Now, if we could just figure out why her sisters refused to help her.”
Ashton shut the file and leaned back in the chair. “What was she doing at the pub so late at night?”
“She wanted to run away,” Jamie said. “She was angry at her father and wanted to disappear to someplace far away.”
“What made her change her mind?” Ashton asked. “Why did she call her sisters to come and get her?”
“Her plans suddenly changed,” he said cryptically glancing over to the door.
Ashton raised her eyebrow, and when Jamie didn’t say any more, she sighed. “So, this Danny guy heard the sisters talking a few months ago about that secret phone call,” she said, “then the pub is attacked shortly after. Have you considered the possibility that Robin’s killer isn’t after anyone? Maybe it’s someone close to Robin that is trying to get revenge on anyone they think is responsible for Robin’s death.”
“Yes, I have,” Sarah said, “but that still doesn’t change the fact that I have nothing to do with Robin’s murder. I didn’t even know her.”
“But you know me.” Jamie looked thoughtful. “I’m not entirely certain that someone wants to kill you. I’ve been thinking about it all night. Fletcher could have killed you at the gym. It would have been easy enough to do. He had plenty of time to do it, but he didn’t. He left you alive.”
“Just barely,” Ashton said. “If she had hit her head any harder—”
“He was playing with her. If he wanted her—” His jaw clenched. “If whoever hired him wanted her dead, Fletcher would have killed her. Since he didn’t that must mean that they didn’t want her dead. They just wanted to scare her.”
“Why?” Sarah asked, turning his attention back to her.
“I’m not sure but … I think you might be bait.”
Sarah exchanged a glance with Ashton before turning back to Jamie. “Bait? For what?”
“For me,” he admitted softly. “I think someone wanted to draw me out or maybe they just want to hurt me by going after you.”
“Which goes back to our revenge theory,” Ashton said. “This isn’t about Sarah at all. It’s about you and Robin.”
“Maybe.” Jamie frowned. “Nathan seems to think Wade Hogan is behind this. He thinks Wade wants revenge for the things Patrick O’Malley did. I think Nathan’s not telling me everything, but I haven’t been able to talk to Hogan yet to see what he says about it.”
“Wade Hogan? You know, now that I think about it, something else happened at the Valentine’s Day party that was a bit disturbing. While I was passing around champagne, I saw Wade Hogan grab Kristen’s arm. I became so concerned I walked over to them to make sure she was all right and I overheard them talking as I came near. Apparently, they had some sort of relationship in the past and now he wants her back.”
Jamie’s brow furrowed. “Wade Hogan and Kristen O’Malley? When did that happen? Wade went to prison shortly after I did and got released around the same time.”
“I don’t know,” Sarah said. “I just know it was in the past and he’s still not over her.”
Jamie looked thoughtful. “Hogan’s after the pub too. Danny said that Wade sent some of his men to break his fingers when he refused to hand over the deed.” He glanced back at Ashton. “Do you think you can get me out?”
Ashton didn’t say anything at first. “Maybe. They have preliminary hearings set for this afternoon. I’ll talk to the prosecutor and see if I can get you on the docket. If I can get the officer and Fletcher there, we may have a shot at working out some type of deal. I have certain conditions though.”
“Name them.”
Her gaze flickered to Sarah. “Sarah, I need to talk to him alone.” When her sister started to protest, she added, “I talk to him alone or I walk out.”
“Fine,” Sarah said pushing herself away from the table and toward the door. “I’ll wait in the courtroom.”
Jamie shook his head. “No, you need to leave now.”
“I’m going to stay for your arraignment.”
A look of panic crossed his face. “No!”
“Jamie—”
“I don’t want you there,” he said in an agitated tone of voice.
“I don’t want to leave you alone, Jamie,” Sarah said softly. “If this was happening to me, I’d be scared to death.”
“I’m not scared. It’s not like I’ve never been through this before.”
“I’d want you with me,” she admitted quietly.
His face softened. “Please, Sarah. There’s no reason for you to stay. You need to get moving and find somewhere safe to stay. We don’t know where Fletcher is or what he’s up to. Please. You’d just be wasting time waiting for me. Your sister can call you and tell you what happened at the hearing. Please Sarah. Please go. I can’t protect you now and you need to hurry.”
Sarah closed her eyes in defeat. “All right. I’ll go.”
“Where?” Ashton asked.
“Home.” She lifted her hands in surrender. “I’ll call Casey and see if he can come over.”
“He’s not going to be able to protect you,” Jamie said. “Not from Fletcher. Pay attention to your surroundings. Make sure he’s not following you and disappear. Just get away from here. Until I can get out of here and do something about all of this, that’s your only chance.”
“Don’t worry about me, Jamie. I’ll be fine,” she said before stepping out into the hall. She wordlessly followed the guard to the door and then out into the front of the courthouse. She was half way to her car when she noticed a familiar face sliding out of a fancy expensive looking red sports car parked at the end of the lot away from other cars.
“Doctor Shaw?” she called out as Brian walked past her towards the courthouse.
He jerked his head to the side at her call. Lifting a hand in front of his eyes to block the morning sun, he looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face. Finally, he smiled in recognition. “Oh hello. How are you feeling?”
She nodded a greeting as he came nearer. “Good.”
“Any dizziness?”
“None. I’m just a bit sore but other than that I’m fine. How’s Phoebe? Is she okay?”
He looked at her strangely for a moment. “Of course, why wouldn’t she be?”
“She seemed pretty upset last night.”
He let out a weary sigh. “She’s been unhappy since we returned. She had been so excited—couldn’t wait to get here—but since all this began …” he said waving his hand around, “she’s just been crying all the time. I guess I better give her a call.” He snapped his fingers. “Which reminds me. She’s been looking for you.” The corner of his lips quirked up. “Apparently, you took off with her favorite pair of boots the other night.”
Sarah lifted a hand to her head with a groan. “I’m so sorry. I completely forgot. I meant to bring them back to the pub the other day but it just slipped my mind.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. She’ll survive. She’s got a whole closet full of boots.”
“Well, I’ll make sure to return them today.”
He chuckled at the seriousness in her tone. “No hurry. It’s not like you’re suddenly going to disappear into thin air.”
“Well, let’s hope not.”
“You know, we should probably get to know each other better. I’m one of Jamie’s closest friends—I’m his only friend, actually—I can tell you stories about him.”
Sarah smiled. “I’d like that.”
“Good. How about I take you to lunch after the arraignment?”
She check
ed her watch. “Actually, I’ll have to take a raincheck on that. I’m afraid I have to go home and pack.”
“Pack?” He frowned. “You’re not leaving are you?”
“Well, no, not exactly,” she said not sure how much she trusted the doctor. He supposedly was Jamie’s friend but discretion didn’t seem like his forte.
“Oh, well good,” he said when she didn’t say any more. “Jamie needs his friends to stick beside him.” He inclined his head to the courthouse. “Did he call you? I bet he threw you out, didn’t he?” Before she could answer with that privilege belonged to her sister, he added, “Don’t take it personally. In fact, that shows how much he cares about you. It’s only the people he’s really close to that he sends away. He doesn’t like people to see him like that. He’s too proud.”
“Are you sure he’ll want to see you then?”
“Well, right now, I’m more of a servant than a friend. I’m here to bail him out. Hopefully, they don’t set his bail too high.” Before she could respond, he added, “You know, I’m not made of money. I’m still paying off my student loans and he should see the rent on my apartment. Everyone thinks doctors are rich. Well, not at first they’re not.” He ran fingers through his black hair as the wind swept through, pushing it forward into his eyes. “So, what happened last night anyway?”
Brian’s eyes widened as she told him about Fletcher and the fight at the pub. “Hank Fletcher’s back in town?” He ran his hand through his dark hair as he let out a low whistle. “That’s bad. That is really bad.” His gaze lost focus as he stared at the pavement. “Why would he be after you?”
“Jamie thinks that Fletcher was using me as bait to get him here. We think that someone might be trying to get revenge for the past.”
“Nathan,” he muttered almost under his breath as his eyes lost focus.
“What?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t listen to me. He was just the first person I thought of.”
“Why?”
Brian looked uncomfortable for a moment. “It’s nothing. I just remembered standing in this parking lot the last time Jamie was being arraigned and Nathan swearing he was going to kill Jamie if he was released. He and Robin were engaged to be married when she died—this was before he and Kristen got together.” Brian made a face. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Nathan’s all talk. He was probably just showing off, trying to make himself seem like a big man for Robin’s father. He’d never get revenge. To be honest, I never thought he cared for Robin as much as he said he did.”
