by Jayne Blue
“Leona,” I said. “You called me. That means you’re worried about something so why don’t you just tell me and we’ll take it from there.”
“Fine. He threatened Ed. Seth really seemed like he was starting to come unglued. At first he wanted money. Can you believe that? Why would he need money, number one, and why in the world would he think Ed would be the person to give it to him?”
“I don’t know why he’d do that, Leona,” I said. “You said he threatened Ed. How?”
“He wasn’t specific. Jackie, look. Ed doesn’t know I’m even talking to you. But I didn’t like what I saw in that boy’s eyes. He looked crazy. Strung out even. There’s a lot of us who have been worried he’s drinking too much. I thought he was going to hurt Ed. I think maybe he would have if I hadn’t come downstairs with my phone in my hand and threatened to call the police.”
“I think you should, Leona. If Seth comes back you definitely need to call the police. In fact, when you hang up with me that’s what I want you to do. They need to know what’s going on with him. You know I think he killed Miranda, don’t you?”
There was a long pause and I could hear Leona breathing. There was something else. I had that same sense that I did at lunch with them the other day that there was some big piece of information she was holding back.
“Leona,” I said. “You agree with me, don’t you? You think Seth killed his mother and I think you know why he’d want to.”
“Ed didn’t want to get involved,” she said through a sigh. “He knew there would be a stink about this and he was right. And he thought maybe that girl was in on it anyway.”
“Leona!”
“Fine,” she said. “Jackie. I don’t know for sure if Seth killed Miranda. But Ed didn’t want Seth to fill his seat when he retires. He was working with Miranda. She was supposed to take Ed’s place, not Seth. That’s what they were meeting about. It wasn’t until after her death that Seth came into the picture on that one. Ed felt guilty and thought maybe he owed it to Miranda’s memory.”
Shit.
“Jackie. Do you really believe Seth could have killed his own mother to get her out of the way?”
“Leona.” I pressed my thumb against my forehead as the last pieces of the puzzle of Seth’s motives slammed into place. “I think you believe it.”
Another long pause. Leona’s voice shook when she finally answered. “Yes. And after what I saw in him this morning. Yes. God help him.”
“Thank you. Leona. You did the right thing calling me. You know I need more though, right? You understand that you and Ed are going to probably have to testify in court about this.”
“Y-yes. I’m so sorry. We should have said something sooner. Ed’s been ill, Jack. He’s not retiring because he wants to play more golf. I’m not going to say anymore but you need to know that.”
“I understand,” I said, though part of me wanted to throttle Ed Jeffries’s ancient neck for not coming forward the second Tora got arrested. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too late to undo the damage.
“It’s going to be okay, Leona. You’ve done the right thing. Ed will too. You might be contacted in the next few hours by some police detectives but I don’t want you to worry about a thing. It’ll all work out.”
As Leona and I said our goodbyes, I prayed hard that it would. For Tora’s sake.
When I got off the phone, I explained the highlights of my conversation to Dex and R.J. as we watched the restaurant. It was five minutes to four.
“This could be huge,” R.J. said. “Seth’s got a motive now. One that makes a hell of a lot more sense than Tora offing Miranda for revenge. No matter what else happens today, I’d say Tora’s defense finally has a real foothold.”
Dex looked like he was having trouble keeping his emotions in check. I’d say it was relief that made his hands tremble in his lap but I was getting to know him well enough to guess that wasn’t it. Like me, I think given the chance, Dex McLain still wanted to wring the life out of Seth with his bare hands.
I turned my attention back to the car window and let out a breath. Nothing to do now but wait.
Four o’clock came and nothing happened. Five minutes. Ten minutes. No Seth. The three of us sat in that car and I don’t think any of us so much as breathed.
“He’s not going to show,” R.J. finally said at almost four thirty. “They’ll probably stick around in there until five, but this is pointless.”
“You think he spotted us?” Dex asked.
R.J. shook his head. “No. Surveillance like this is my job. Seth hasn’t been anywhere around here in the last forty-five minutes. He must have changed his mind. Unless he never planned on showing up in the first place.”
A sickening thought seeped into my brain the instant R.J. said it and my blood ran cold. Dex shifted beside me. His body seemed coiled like he was ready to explode. We had the same thought in the same moment and it was Dex who gave voice to it first.
“Son of a bitch. Tora.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tora
Margie Burnett wielded magic in the form of chocolate chip cookies. She made me a batch after lunch and we sat at the kitchen table over a plate of them.
“I think I’ve probably gained ten pounds since I came to stay with you,” I said, waving half a cookie at her.
Margie smiled and tucked a strand of her wiry gray hair behind her ears. I never had a mother, but if I did, I’d want her to be just like Margie Burnett.
“You were too skinny anyway,” she said. “And I’m so glad you are here. I have a daughter, her name is Kimberly. She lives in North Carolina now with her husband. I miss having another woman in this house. But I understand how hard it’s been for you to be here.”
I reached across the table and took Margie’s hands. “It’s been very easy to be here. If I haven’t said it enough, let me say it now. A lot of people believed a lot of lies about me but you never have. Thank you.”
Margie patted my hand. “I wish Jackson could have met you. You know I’m sorry for what he did but it wasn’t who he was. I’m sure Jackie’s told you that. Just know that a lot of the things you love about Jackie, his father had those qualities too.”
“I believe that.” And I did. As difficult as it was living with the consequences of Jackson Manning’s bad deeds, he made my Jack the man he was and so I got the benefit of the best part of him.
I leaned back in my chair and looked at the clock for about the thousandth time. It was just a few minutes before four o’clock. Seth had probably shown up at the diner by now or was on his way. Margie stood up and cleared our plates. I moved to help her.
“I’ve got this,” she said. “Why don’t you go take advantage of the fact that there are no boys in this house right now.” She winked at me and I realized in addition to being a cookie magician, Margie Burnett was also a genius. I hadn’t had uninterrupted bathroom time in about two days.
“You’re brilliant,” I said. “I’m going to go take advantage of a full hot water heater and take the longest shower of my life.”
“Now you’re talking,” Margie said. “R.J. is heading out of town tonight for a client, he told me. When Reed gets back from the office, he’s taking me out to dinner. We’re thinking we might stay in town tonight if you don’t mind having this old house all to yourself.”
I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to spin her around the kitchen and actually kiss her. Margie was too smart by half. I would finally get my night alone with Jack. With any luck, he’d come back with some good news on the Seth front.
“You know, Margie,” I said. “I’m not even going to try to act coy after that.” And I did cross the kitchen and plant a wet kiss right on her cheek. She threw her head back and laughed.
“Glad to hear it,” she said as I turned on my heel and headed for the hall bathroom. “Reed and I have been worried that old tree house was going to give you splinters in your ass.”
I froze in my tracks, turned and looked at her. Then Margie and I b
urst into laughter together.
My hot shower did wonders to take the edge off some of the nerves I had about Addie’s meeting with Seth. I figured there was about a fifty-fifty chance he’d even show. I was actually more worried about what my father would do if he got hold of him. It made me doubly glad that both Addie and Detective Haney’s people were there. Dad wasn’t dumb enough to violate his parole right in front of the cops. Jack was another matter.
I let the hot water sluice over my body and tried to push my worries about Seth to some far corner of my mind. My father had been right. I was going to have to learn to start letting other people help me. I was lucky to be surrounded by smart people who loved me and would pick up their swords for me at a moment’s notice. It was tough to get used to but I know I needed to try.
And there was Jack. As crazy as my life had been, he had become the one constant. Someday soon, maybe we’d be able to have something more normal together. I had to believe we could. I had to believe I would get past all of this.
I rinsed off the last of the shampoo out of my hair and turned off the jets. I’d forgotten to turn on the vent fan and the bathroom was a cloudy haze of steam. I groped for the towels I had folded over the wall rack. I wrapped one around my hair and tucked the other at my breasts. I could hear Margie singing from the kitchen.
I crossed the hallway to the guest bedroom, moving quickly so I wouldn’t drip on Margie’s wood floor. I sat on the edge of the bed and scrubbed my hair with the towel to get most of the moisture out of it. The humidity was high today and I’ve have to blow it out. I tossed the towel into the hamper and went to the closet to figure out what to wear for Jack. I didn’t have much of a wardrobe here. Just what Jack and Addie had brought me and a few things Margie’s neighbor had loaned me. I smiled to myself as I stood in front of the closet. Jack would probably be satisfied if I just stayed in this towel. I glanced at the clock near the bed. It was four thirty. If Jack had called, I assumed Margie would have said something but I called out to her anyway.
“Did the boys call in yet, Margie?” She didn’t answer, she’d probably gone down to the basement to straighten up after R.J. so I turned back to the closet.
I slid the hangers aside one by one and finally settled on a light green sundress. Perfect. I looked down. “Yep. It ought to go quite nicely with my lovely black ankle tether.”
I startled as arms came around my waist and pulled me back against a strong chest and started tugging at my towel.
“Oh!”
There was just a split second that I leaned back into his arms. Only Jack would touch me like that. But how did he get back so fast? I stiffened. The feel was wrong. The smell was wrong. When I looked down, his arms were covered in a dusting of blond hair.
“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this?” he said. But it wasn’t Jack’s voice at all.
Seth tightened his grip around me and my blood turned to ice. I didn’t dare move. Didn’t dare breathe. I gathered the ends of my towel and held it close to my body as I drew the courage to turn and face him.
Seth let me go and stepped back. He was haggard and ragged. He wore a crumpled gray t-shirt and ripped jeans. His beard had grown in unkempt. He struggled to focus on me with red-rimmed eyes. This was bad. He looked wild, desperate and dangerous. And I’d never heard him come in.
“I thought we were going to meet at the diner?” I said, trying to keep my voice normal—to pretend I wasn’t startled at all. When things escalated with him, there’d be no going back.
“Look at you,” he said. “Are you trying to find something pretty to wear for Jack?”
“No,” I said. “We were going to meet, remember? You and me. You should have called and told me you were coming here. I just lost track of time and was running a little bit late.”
“Shut your filthy lying mouth!” Seth’s shout pierced my ears. He swayed on his feet and his expression became pained. “Lies. Lies. Lies. Tora lies when she opens her mouth and her legs. That’s what my mother said about you. Did you know that?”
I took a breath and sat down on the bed. In his twisted way, Seth was right. It was time for me to stop lying to him for good.
“What did you expect me to do?” I said. “Now you know the truth though, don’t you? Do you want me to apologize? You’re too smart not to know that would just be another lie.”
Seth smiled. “Well, that’s a start anyway.”
The crazed look came out of his eyes a little and I let a breath out. I was scared of him, but I couldn’t let him see it. Something else was wrong. Dread filled my stomach. The rest of the house was too quiet. What had he done with Margie? She wouldn’t have let him involuntarily.
Slowly, I stood up again and walked around the bed. I didn’t turn my back to him and Seth let me walk by him. I went back to the closet. I thought about making a run for the door, but again I feared that would bring things to a head with him too soon. But Margie. Where was she?
I grabbed the green dress from the hanger. I kept my eyes locked with Seth as I let the towel fall to the floor. I made my movements fast but deliberate. I kept my eyes on him as I slid the dress over my head and adjusted it to cover me. Let him see my willingness to be vulnerable so he would know my strength. Seth’s eyes narrowed as he regarded me. Then he took a step forward and grabbed my upper arms hard.
He pulled me to him and crushed his lips against mine. No. Not this. Whatever else happened, I was done giving my body to this man as a means to control him. I bit his lip and pushed him away from me hard and brought my hands up, ready to fend off another advance.
Seth just took a staggering step backward and wiped his mouth. A sick smile split his face. “You’re my wife, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not your wife. You married Tora Blake. She doesn’t exist.”
“That makes you a whore for real then, Tora,” Seth said. His words didn’t hurt. Better he called me names than try to touch me again.
I decided to press my luck and I walked past him. I felt his eyes on my back, making my skin prickle with fear as I reached out and closed my hand around the doorknob. The air moved behind me and Seth’s palm landed just above my head as he slammed the door shut hard. He pressed me against the door, my face smashed into the wood.
“You’re my wife,” he said. “I don’t care what the paperwork says. You stood up in front of witnesses and took vows. And you came to my bed after you said them. You’re my wife.”
Seth reached his hand around and squeezed my breast. I felt him against me, the crotch of his jeans pressed against the curve of my ass. He wouldn’t rape me. He wasn’t capable of it, for the same reasons that plagued him during our so-called courtship and marriage. Seth was flaccid against me. It didn’t mean he couldn’t be cruel or try to hurt me badly as I feared he’d done to Margie. I had to get past this door. I had to see if she was all right.
I pushed back hard against the door and it was enough to make Seth lose his footing for a moment. I didn’t look back. I threw the door open and stumbled out into the hallway. I tripped on Margie’s area rug and went to my knees, my heart pounding in my throat.
“Oh God!” I cried out. At the end of the hallway, I saw Margie’s feet in her white tennis shoes sprawled across the entrance to the kitchen. She was on her back and not moving.
Feeling Seth close behind me, I scrambled to my feet and ran toward her. I got to her just as Seth got to me. He didn’t stop me. He just hovered over me as I went to my knees in front of Margie’s still form.
“Margie,” I said. I spread my hands out over her. There was an ugly gash across her forehead and blood oozed out of it. He had pushed her hard. It looked like she split her head open on the edge of the table. I leaned over her face and laid my hand on her chest. She was breathing, thank God, but barely.
I turned to Seth. “We need to call an ambulance. She’s out cold.”
“She’s better off that way,” he said. “You know, she never liked me. She was another one who always
played favorites. Jack the Golden Boy and Seth the Unwanted Step.”
“What are you talking about?” I said. Seeing what he’d done to Margie, I couldn’t be cold or calculating. I just wanted to rip his demented face off. “She’s never done anything to you! She bakes cookies and probably let you play in her back yard. What’s the matter with you?”
“You like her back yard?” Seth’s eyes went wild. “I saw you out there. Did you know that? I watched you. I’ve been watching you for weeks. Is that how you like it? You like to rut in the grass?”
Seth reached out and hauled me to my feet. The floor was wet where my hair had dripped and I slipped. Seth wrenched my arm. We stumbled backward and he had me up against the wall, pressing his body into mine again. He tried to kiss me and I bit down on his lip even harder, tasting blood.
He took a step back. “How long!” His voice was booming menace. “How long did you and Jack plan this?”
“I didn’t know Jack until after your mother died,” I said, surprised at how calm I sounded. My heart raced in my chest and I had a singular focus. I needed to get to a phone and dial 911. Margie was bleeding badly and her color was turning gray.
“You know he only wanted you to get back at me. You don’t actually think he loves you, do you?”
“We’re not talking about this,” I said. “You’re going to let me call an ambulance for Margie and then you’re going to get back in your car and get the hell out of here.”
“I’m taking you with me, Tora,” he said. “You still belong to me.”
For the only time since they locked it on me, I was deeply grateful for my ankle tether. He could see it plainly if he looked but I debated keeping it quiet. If Seth did try to take me out of here by force, the police could track me. If he tried to remove it, it would send a signal to the police and they’d be here within a few minutes as well. Then I had the makings of a plan.
I stuck my leg out. “You can’t take me anywhere against my will,” I said. “The cops are tracking me all the time. I’m not allowed to leave Margie’s property. I’m under house arrest, thanks to you.”
