by Susan Crosby
“Could it have been hit-and-run?” Sam asked.
Bodine gave an exhausted sigh, as if giving a stock speech he’d given a dozen times before. “There’s not as much evidence with bikes as with cars. But we can still put facts together. The majority of the damage was on the left side of the bike, as you can see. He slipped and never recovered, went over the embankment.”
“Did you look for hit-and-run?” James asked.
“I looked for everything.”
“I wasn’t insulting you, Sergeant,” James said. “I need to lay this to rest for the son.”
“The kid came to see me, five maybe six times. What am I supposed to tell him? He says how his father knows that road, every inch of it. That he’s a careful man. Well, I know that road, too, and I’ve almost lost it on that curve myself a few times. There is no evidence to indicate foul play. It could’ve been a hit-and-run, intentional or otherwise, but I don’t think so. I found absolutely nothing to indicate otherwise.”
“Does anything indicate he applied the brakes?” James asked.
Bodine raised his brows. “Are you saying this could be self-inflicted? Intentional on Brenley’s part?”
“I’m asking, not saying.”
The sergeant scratched his cheek, then he flipped through the photos until he came to the one he wanted. “No skid marks, but the road was wet,” he reminded them. “And personally if I was gonna take my last ride, it wouldn’t be here. It’d be a mile up the road. If Brenley knew the road as good as the kid said he did, he’d know that, too.”
James nodded.
“Do you think the boy will rest now?” Bodine asked. “I’ve got a kid about that age. I kept wanting to hug him. He was struggling for answers.”
“I’ll do my best to convince him,” James said, standing and extending his hand. “Thanks a lot.”
“What next?” Sam asked when they left the building.
He thought about Caryn, who was going about her life, being patient, he hoped. And he thought about Kevin, probably still ticked off—as if he needed more fuel to dislike James. And he thought about Venus, whom he’d decided was as much a victim as Caryn and Kevin.
What next?
He didn’t have a doubt in his mind.
James got the last flight back to San Francisco that night, the longest Sunday of his life. He should just go home, fall into bed, and sleep until he’d had enough, even if he didn’t get up until noon. He couldn’t see Caryn and Kevin until after three o’clock, anyway.
He glanced at his dashboard clock as he pulled onto Highway 101, leaving the airport. Almost midnight. He wanted to see Caryn, talk to her, tell her what they decided to do. He could’ve told her over the phone, but he needed to tell her in person, because he needed to be with her.
His cell phone rang, and he knew it was her without even looking at the screen. “Mysterious.”
A pause, then, “How’d you guess it was me?”
“Just lucky.” Her voice flowed through him like liquid fire. Even though he’d been sure nothing would happen while he was gone, a part of him worried anyway, as a man does about a woman he…loves. His heart slammed against his sternum. “How are you?”
“Fine. Not sleepy, though. Could you come over?”
“Kevin—”
“Went to sleep a couple of hours ago. He sleeps like the dead. I just…I just want to talk. I can’t wait until tomorrow.”
And he wanted to hold her, kiss her, sleep beside her. That’s all. Just sleep. He didn’t have that right. Would never have that right.
“Please,” she added.
He should take his moments while he could, he supposed. What difference would it make in the long run? “Okay. I’m about twenty minutes out.”
“I’ll be watching for you. You won’t have to knock.”
“See you soon,” he said, knowing he was just opening himself up to heartache, but also knowing he couldn’t live his life any other way. His son and his son’s mother would come first. Now and always.
“What can I get you?” Caryn asked after James eased out a kitchen chair and sat at the table. “Have you had dinner?”
“Hamburger at the airport. What I’d really like is hot chocolate.”
“Comfort food?” she asked, studying him. He hadn’t attempted to hug her since he’d arrived. She was so tired of waiting to hear what happened. He’d put her off twice during the day, with flimsy excuses. No more excuses now.
“It’s been a long day,” he said.
She grabbed milk and a pan, then the box of powdered cocoa. No microwaved stuff, no watered-down cocoa, but the old-fashioned kind. Besides it gave her something to do—stir the milk so it wouldn’t scorch, keep herself busy. She kept her back to him, waiting for him to set the pace and give her the facts, but her pulse thundered with expectation. Tell me, tell me, tell me.
“It was an accident, Caryn.”
She dropped the spoon to the floor, pressed her hands to her mouth. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
She hadn’t heard him move, but he was there, behind her. She turned and fell into him. His arms came around her and tightened, in comfort and sympathy and celebration of an agony shattered. She could pick up the pieces and put them back together in a new arrangement, a happier one. She had James to thank for that.
He tucked her face against his neck. She hadn’t known how much it had weighed on her until the weight was lifted. Everything let loose at once—the anger and shame, gone. Grief transitioned into a gentler emotion with good memories attached instead of the horrible ones. She could remember Paul with love now.
After a while she stepped back and grabbed a tissue. James picked up the spoon from the floor, got another one out of a drawer and stirred. She leaned over and sniffed the concoction. It didn’t seem to have scorched. “Where do we go from here?” She gave her cheeks one more swipe with the tissue and tucked it in her pocket.
“You want to hear my plan?”
The twinkle in his eye alerted her that she was about to be fed a line.
“I figure we need to close this out now, before anything else happens. How about a plan to have Venus tell her brother that she’s turning state’s evidence.” His look was mock serious. “He’ll come rushing up from L.A., intending to take her home, get her out of sight. But I’ll be hiding out at her place, instead, and grab him. Then I’ll hold him hostage for the five hundred grand—that’s counting interest—he owes you. When he’s turned over the money, he’ll be free to go.”
She grinned at the ridiculousness of his idea, grateful he’d chosen to change the mood so drastically. He always seemed attuned to her needs.
“You won’t give him the option of turning himself in?”
“To the police?”
“No, to the tooth fairy.”
He managed not to smile. “Somehow I don’t see him turning himself in. Better to take him down and do it myself.”
“You’re not calling in the cops?”
“They’d just mess things up. They always do on TV.”
“Can I help?”
“I don’t see why not.” He turned the heat off from under the pan. “Got a couple of mugs?”
She pulled two from the cupboard and set them down.
“What was that?” James asked suddenly, turning toward the kitchen door.
“What?”
“That sound.”
“Um, I just put the mugs on the counter.”
“No.” He abandoned the pan and walked into the living room, then over to the stairs.
She followed. “I didn’t hear anything.” After a minute they returned to the kitchen and sat at the table, opposite each other. The cocoa was warm and sweet. Her cares were lifted. Life was good, she thought. “So, what’s the real plan?” she asked.
“You didn’t like that one?” he asked, with the same twinkle.
“Well, I hope you’re going to let the legal system do their job.” If James was contemplating even for a
moment the idea of going after Johnson, she’d find a way to kidnap him herself, just to keep James safe.
“Why do you hope that?”
“Because I believe in the system.”
“Even though you didn’t contact the police yourself about the extortion?”
“Because I didn’t. I learned. We’ve got enough evidence, right?”
“Maybe. Depends on his lawyers. I have to be honest, you may not see the money. Even if he’s convicted, he probably won’t pay up. It’s hard to say.”
“I have everything I need, Jamey.”
He cocked his head at her. “That’s a change from this morning, when you said you wanted your money back.”
“I’ve had time to think, and to get my priorities back in alignment. Sure it would be wonderful to have the money, but it’s not what counts the most.”
“What does count?”
“Home, family, good food, friends, world peace.” She smiled.
“You are one of a kind.” He leaned across the table and kissed her, her mouth warm and chocolatey.
“I need to go to bed,” he said. “I’ll call Kevin before he heads to school and set up a time to meet with both of you around three-thirty. Unless you want me to talk to him alone.”
“Would you be telling him anything you haven’t told me?”
“No.”
“Then feel free to talk to him early in the morning. I’m sure he’ll be calling you if you don’t call him, anyway.”
He took her hand and walked with her to the top of stairs. “Don’t come down with me,” he said.
“I have to. I need to turn the dead bolt after you go.”
At the bottom of the stairs she waited for a kiss. Instead he cupped her face with one hand, brushed his thumb along her cheek, then left.
She locked the door and leaned against it. She didn’t know how long it would take before Johnson could be arrested. Days, maybe. Weeks, even. A case would have to be built. They would have to live in limbo until then, but at least some of her questions were answered.
And now there was a big one ahead. What will happen between her and James? She couldn’t begin to guess. All she knew for sure was that, as crazy as it seemed, she’d fallen in love with him.
Seventeen
The ringing phone dragged James from a deep, dreamless sleep. He grabbed it on the second ring, glancing at the clock at the same time. Five minutes before six.
“Venus called in sick.”
He threw his legs over the side of the bed. “When?”
“Just now.” Caryn’s voice was hushed, as if afraid she might be overheard.
“Did you talk to her?”
“No. Raphael did.”
“What’d she say was wrong?”
“He didn’t pass that along.”
“Okay. I’ll try to get in touch with her. Don’t worry, okay? She’s probably reacting to everything that’s happened.”
“Sure. Can I call you later?”
“Of course.”
He hung up, found Venus’s number and dialed it. An answering machine picked up. “Venus, it’s James. Are you there?… Pick up, please.” He waited a while longer before setting down the receiver. He didn’t like his gut feeling.
He yanked on some clothes and headed downstairs, deciding to go see her, even though her apartment was a half hour away in clear traffic.
It wasn’t clear traffic today. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, took a few side streets. He planned ahead for the day. After he talked with Kevin later, he would go to the office and work out the details with Cassie and Quinn, probably include Nate and Sam by conference call. Next step would be notifying the D.A. of Johnson’s county, and while James would leave the job in their hands, he wouldn’t back out altogether. For himself, as well as Caryn and Kevin, he would stay involved. He’d figured out how to have good working relationships with the police and district attorneys through his career. They might not encourage outside participation in an investigation, but they always appreciated good evidence.
He was almost at Venus’s apartment when his phone rang.
“Paladin.”
“It’s Kevin.”
“Hi. I was going to call you later—”
“Um, I think we’re kinda in trouble.” His words were rushed, his voice low.
“We?”
“Venus and me.”
“Where are you?”
“In my apartment.”
Make a U-turn, head east.
“We just came from Venus’s place, when we realized what we’d done was kinda…” The words faded.
“What are you doing there?” The traffic jammed again. C’mon. C’mon.
“I was waiting last night for you. I sorta heard you talkin’ to Mom about, you know, your plan to trap Johnson—”
Every curse James had learned in his life echoed in his head. That stupid scenario he’d created for Caryn. That damned stupid scenario. “What’d you do?” He passed a car on the right. A horn blared.
“I went to see Venus right away. We decided to just do it, you know? Take care of business, like you planned. But—” his voice dropped “—I’m a little scared now. I don’t even have a gun. We’ve been stupid, I think. Can you—”
“I’m on my way, Kev. Now listen to me. You and Venus get out of there. He knows where you live, too. Are you on your cell phone?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Just hold on a minute. Don’t move until I tell you to.”
“Okay.”
The fear in his voice shook James to the core. “It’s going to be all right. Hang on.”
He put Kevin on hold long enough to call the police and have a unit sent out, then he clicked back in. “Okay, Kev, just keep talking to me. You and Venus leave the apartment right now. Get in your car and just drive.”
“Where to?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just drive.”
“Okay. Venus, come on…. Okay, we’re leaving.”
James heard Venus scream, not long and loud but enough to show fear. A door slammed.
“What’s going on, Kev?”
“He’s here! Johnson!”
“Did he see you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Go out your back door and upstairs to your mom’s. Get into a closet and stay quiet. Do not do anything—do you understand me?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry….”
“Just go. Keep your phone on. I’m two minutes away.” James kept his phone propped between his shoulder and ear as he navigated the last few blocks. It seemed like an hour—
“He’s breaking in, man! He came up the back and knocked out the glass in the door.”
Fear gripped James. “Just be quiet. Both of you. He doesn’t know you’re there.”
“My car’s right out front!”
For once, the kid had parked in plain sight instead of getting the lay of the land. “Don’t talk unless you see him face-to-face.” James pulled up in front of the duplex, threw open the car door and rushed around the side of the house to the backyard, slowing down to tiptoe up the stairs. “I’m putting my phone away. Do not, I repeat, do not leave that closet. Whatever happens, let me deal with it. Got it?”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
James tucked the phone in his pocket. He debated whether to draw his weapon. Even though Venus insisted, as Baldy also had to the police, that they didn’t carry, James couldn’t be sure this time. Johnson was looking to save his own life—Venus’s testimony could help put him away. Maybe not for life, but for a long time. He was desperate. He had to get her away. He was probably taking her into hiding with him.
He made it to the top stair. He heard the siren then, from a distance, getting louder and closer fast, then a sudden silence. They were there. Backup had arrived.
The door burst open, hitting James dead-on. A short, slender guy shoved him, sending him tumbling. He had a brief sensation of air beneath him, seeing the side of the building flying past, and then
he slammed into the ground. Pain shot through him. He tried to move. More pain.
Johnson ran down the steps, tried to leap over him. James caught his leg, yanked it out from under him. He landed facedown. From his scream and the way he grabbed his face, James figured he’d broken his nose. Good, he thought, as two police officers, weapons drawn, came around the corner.
“He’s your man,” James said. As the world began to tilt, he passed out.
There was a commotion outside James’s E.R. curtain.
“You are not stopping me,” he heard a woman say. Mysterious. He smiled through his pain-medication-induced euphoria. Then she was there, beside him, her face close to his, tears in her eyes.
“Are you all right?” she demanded.
“Life is good,” he said, maybe slurring the words, he wasn’t sure, but that was about all that seemed important at the moment. No, there was something…. “I got my priorities straight.”
She laid her face against his chest and cried. He patted her back. His hand kept slipping, though. “There, there.”
She laughed, a watery kind of sound. “You said you weren’t going to get any more scars.”
“Do bones get scars? I don’t think I lied about that.”
Her expression turned solemn. “How can I thank you, Jamey? You were ready to lay down your life for my son.”
“My son, too.”
Fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She kissed him, the sweetest kiss he’d ever known.
“All right, Mr. Paladin,” said the E.R. nurse, swooping in. “Time for a little ride to surgery.” She and another aide tugged on his gurney, pulling him out of the curtained cubicle.
“I love you, Caryn,” he said as they wheeled him away.
He thought he heard her say she loved him, too, but everything was too hazy. He would let himself think so, anyway, because it would be his last thought before going under. It was a good thought….
James asked that no visitors be allowed into the recovery room. He needed the fog to clear in his head before he talked to Caryn. And Kevin and Venus.
He had no idea what would happen next. Had Caryn said she loved him? He still wasn’t sure. But there was still Kevin to deal with. While he’d matured a great deal in a short period of time, James didn’t want Kevin to accept him just because he’d helped him out of a jam. Like anyone, James wanted to be accepted for who he was, not for what he’d done.
