Indiscretions

by Donna Hill

  “Do you remember what time?

  Ellen hesitated. “I know we were the last to arrive.”

  “Why was that, Mrs. Counts?”

  “Alex…got home…late that night.” She tossed the rest of her drink down her throat and turned to Khendra, the first flash of emotion registering on her face.

  “Let me tell you something, Ms. Phillips. My husband has provided me with all this.”

  She swept her hands expansively around the room and beyond. “He lives his life, and I live mine. We like it that way. And if you think for a moment I’d risk losing it, then you’re mad. As far as I’m concerned, this conversation never occurred. And I would appreciate it very much if you left now.” She turned her back in dismissal.

  “I may not need your help, Mrs. Counts, but I hope you sleep well at night knowing what your husband did to Carol and to an innocent man.” Khendra snatched up her belongings and walked out of the house, somewhat relieved to be free of the oppressive atmosphere.

  Hurrying to her car, she drove out of the driveway unaware she had been seen.

  Alex marched into the house, slamming the door solidly behind him. “Ellen!” he roared, storming through the house, flinging open doors until he found her in the study.

  She was sitting on the sofa, a ghostly pallor masking her face. She turned red-rimmed eyes upon him, her third drink shaking in her hand.

  He crossed the room in two strides and knocked the glass from her hand, fury and a dark fear heightening his features.

  “What was that woman doing here?” he demanded. “What did you tell her?”

  “I didn’t tell her anything,” she answered weakly.

  “You’re a liar!” His large, open hand connected solidly with her face, knocking her to the floor. She tearfully told him what he wanted to know.

  Enraged, he saw all of his life crumbling around him, just the way his father’s had when he was betrayed by Alex’s mother. He raised his hand again, and Ellen cowered. As he administered blow after blow, he avenged his father and the infidelities he had been subjected to by his mother. “All women are alike. They needed, wanted someone to control them or else they would destroy you.” He heard the words of his father ring in his ears. And he wouldn’t let a woman destroy his success.

  The following morning, Khendra sat alone in her rented office space, meticulously detailing and analyzing all the information she had gathered. Hovered over her desk, she didn’t realize anyone had come in until a shadow loomed across her desk.

  Startled, she looked up, only to find Ellen Counts standing in front of her. She wore all black, which made her small frame seem even smaller. Her look was almost ominous. A sheer black scarf covered her chestnut-brown curls, and her eyes were hidden behind dark glasses. She looked as though she were on her way to a funeral.

  “Ms. Phillips,” she began weakly before Khendra could speak, “I’m willing to testify against my husband.” She slipped the glasses off her nose to reveal large purple and black bruises around her eyes and a jaw that seemed grotesquely swollen.

  Khendra sprang from her seat and rounded the desk, sure that if she didn’t catch Ellen she would collapse. She gently lowered her into a nearby chair.

  “Mrs. Counts, what happened?” Khendra reached out and instinctively touched Ellen’s cheek.

  “He beat me,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “And it’s not the first time.” She lowered her head. “It’s been going on for years.” She took a deep breath. “I can’t live like this anymore. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  Hours later, Khendra packed up her notes and placed a call to the D.A.’s office, advising him she had all the evidence she’d need to have the case reopened. She would be at his office within the hour.

  Her spirit was lifted, her heart light with hope as she drove down the winding highway. After she saw the D.A., she would go see Sean and tell him the good news.

  Sean. It seemed an eternity since she’d seen him. And she didn’t realize how badly she missed him until now. Where had things gone wrong? Where had they gone wrong? So many things had gotten in the way of their love. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.

  She picked up speed, casting aside the disturbing thoughts, only wanting to see the look on Ed’s face when she showed him what she had. She turned the car around the biting turn and the car seemed to accelerate. She stepped on the brake. Nothing happened.

  Sheer, dark fear assaulted her as she fought with the wheel, slamming down on the brake to no avail. The car seemed to have a will of its own as the speedometer rose.

  She screamed as the car veered around a curve, and the next thing she remembered before the car careened into the ravine was…Sean.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  She floated upward through the heavy clouds that surrounded her, a deep pain that she couldn’t understand seeming to hold her down.

  A low groan filtered through the air, and she couldn’t tell where it came from. Slowly, painfully, her eyes fluttered open, only to shut again against the glaring fluorescent lights. She tried to move, but every bone in her body felt as though it were on fire, and she panicked as darkness threatened to engulf her once again.

  A low voice drifted to her ears, pulling her back to consciousness. “Ms. Phillips, can you hear me?”

  She struggled to open her eyes and force her lips to form words, but she couldn’t.

  “Ms. Phillips.” The voice pounded against the ache in her head. “I’m Doctor Roberts. You’re going to be fine,” he assured in a soothing bedside tone. “You’re in the hospital. You were in a car accident.”

  Flashes of the car hurdling over the divide rushed to the surface. A strangled cry bubbled up from her throat.

  “Don’t try to talk,” the doctor urged, placing a calming hand on her bandaged shoulder. “You sustained a concussion and some cracked ribs. And your shoulder was also dislocated.”

  “Water,” she whispered in a cracked voice.

  Dr. Roberts reached over to the bedside stand and poured a small cup of water. He gently raised her head, allowing her to drink.

  Resting back on the pillows, she slowly absorbed the doctor’s words, the reality that she had survived finally sinking in. Then through the fog of awakening, her reasons for being on that road came surging back. How long had she been here? What about Sean?

  “Doctor,” she rasped, “how…long…” Her voice trailed off.

  “You’ve been here three days. You’re going to have a whopper of a headache for a while. We’re giving you something for pain intravenously.”

  “I’ve…got…to get…out…my case…Sean.” Her eyes briefly drifted closed.

  Dr. Roberts frowned. “Sean? I don’t understand. Was there someone else with you?”

  She barely shook her head as a blinding pain roared through her skull. “Please.” She stretched a weak hand and grabbed the cuff of his white coat. “Call District Attorney…Damato. Tell him to come.”

  “I’ll do that first thing in the morning, Ms. Phillips.”

  “No. Now.” Her voice was a ragged plea. “Please…it’s urgent.”

  He was instantly alarmed by her growing agitation. “All right, all right. Just calm down. Nurse! Bring me five cc’s of Demerol.”

  Within moments the sedative had dripped through the I.V., lulling Khendra into a dreamless sleep.

  The next morning her thoughts were more coherent and the pain in her head had lessened to a dull throb. She tried to sit up, but the effort was too much, and she collapsed back against her pillow.

  She blinked and slowly looked around the room to see Ed Damato dozing in a chair by the window. She called out to him, relieved that her voice sounded almost normal.

  He briefly shook his head at the sound of his name and slowly rose from his perch. “How are you feeling?” he asked gently, approaching her bed.

  “Like I’ve been run over by a truck.” She tried to laugh, but it stuck in her throat.

  “You’re a very lucky young l
ady. Some tourists saw your car go over the divide and into the ravine. They flagged down the highway patrol.”

  “My notes…on the case…where are they?”

  “Safely tucked away in my office. You have a helluva case against Counts. But I have some bad news.”

  She braced herself.

  “Your witness, Mrs. Finch, she’s disappeared. And the sentencing is in six days.”

  Khendra closed her eyes as her head began to pound. Without Mrs. Finch, the entire case would fall apart.

  “We have to find her,” she croaked.

  “Well, until we do, this whole thing is at a standstill, even with the wife’s testimony, which she could back out of at any minute.”

  She tried to think. There had to be something she could do. Then she remembered Phil, Sean’s friend.

  “I need you to call someone in New York. His name is Phil Banks. Tell him I need him. His number is in my book at the office.” She leaned back, breathless.

  “I’ll have someone get right on it.” He moved from her bed, then turned back. “I’ve requested a police guard be posted outside your door.”

  Her brow creased. “Why?”

  “Your car was tampered with, and we don’t want anything else to happen to you.”

  She shut her eyes against the quiet terror that crept through her bones. When she next awakened, a new day’s sun had spread through the window and reality resurfaced.

  I have to contact Sean. She reached for the bedside phone.

  Charisse sat nervously facing the sheet of glass, watching the prisoners take their places in the booths. Her eyes searched the faces of the entering men as she looked for Sean.

  Then she saw him. His still-confident swagger brought him in her direction. She was once again struck by his incredible good looks. Even the beginning stubble of a beard shadowing his chiseled face couldn’t diminish his appeal. Rather, it enhanced his aura of virility, even in the dismal atmosphere.

  Surprise registered on his face, and a feeling of foreboding floated through him when he saw Charisse. Why was she here? He sat down and picked up the phone. Charisse picked up hers.

  “Where is Khendra?”

  Charisse gauged her response, not wanting to upset him. “First, before I say anything, I just want you to know that she’s going to be fine.”

  The muscle clenched in his jaw.

  Charisse took a calming breath before she continued. “She was in a car accident.”

  “What! Oh, my God!” Alarm rang through his voice.

  “But she’s all right,” Charisse assured. “She asked me to let you know she secured evidence to have the case reopened. The D.A. has it now.”

  His tightened shoulders slowly relaxed. Charisse looked pensively at him, and he felt a but coming.

  “The bad news is,” she continued, “that her witness has disappeared. Khen had the D.A. contact your friend Phil. He’s already in Florida trying to find the witness. Khen is positive she went back there to her mother’s home.”

  “When will Khendra be released from the hospital?” he wanted to know, casting his trouble aside, thinking only of her.

  “The doctors say a few more days. She has a concussion and a couple of cracked ribs.”

  He briefly shut his eyes, pushing away the vision of her lying helplessly in a hospital bed. His stomach twisted. “Would you tell her something for me, Charisse?”

  “Of course. What is it?”

  “Just tell her that I know she did everything she could and not to worry about me. I just want her to get well. I’m fine. Let the D.A. handle it from here.”

  “I’ll tell her, but you know Khendra. She has a will of her own.” She gave him a weak grin.

  “Yeah, I know,” he said somberly.

  Fighting the aches in her body and the flashes of pain that ripped through her head, it had taken Khendra nearly an hour to get dressed. But finally she was finished. She took her personal belongings from the bedside stand and dropped them into her handbag.

  The doctor had said she needed to stay another week, but time was running out. Against all of the doctors’ orders, she had signed herself out of the hospital.

  Phil had called that morning to say he had located Mrs. Finch, but she refused to return to Atlanta. He said she was terrified. She had no other recourse but to go to Florida herself and beg her if she had to. She didn’t care what it took, but Vera Finch was going to testify.

  The cab pulled up in front of a small whitewashed house set back against a tiny grove of budding orange trees. Khendra checked the address against the one written on the slip of paper. Satisfied, she paid the driver.

  The long ride from the Palm Beach airport had left her achy, and her head had once again begun to pound. Gingerly, she stepped out of the car into the blazing afternoon sun, and she had to quickly don her dark shades.

  Slowly, she made her way to the front door and rang the bell.

  Within moments, a young girl, about eight years old, answered the door, looking at Khendra with startling gray eyes. The resemblance to Vera was astounding, she thought, seeing Vera as she must have looked as a child.

  Is Vera Finch here?” she asked gently, looking down at the girl.

  “M-O-M!” the child yelled. “A lady is here to see you,” she chanted.

  Several moments later, Vera appeared at the door, and cold fear registered on her face.

  “Kerry, go inside,” she instructed her daughter.

  Then when Kerry was safely out of earshot, she turned to Khendra. “What are you doing here?” she hissed. “I already told that man I wasn’t coming back.” Her cheeks flamed. “Now go away!”

  “Vera, please,” Khendra begged. “You’ve got to listen to me. A man’s life is at stake.”

  “My life is at stake.”

  Khendra’s eyes immediately flashed concern. “Please Vera, let me come in so we can talk. What happened, and why do you think you’re in danger?”

  Vera stepped aside, and Khendra walked into the small living room. Glad to be inside because her head was beginning to throb again, she sank into the first chair she saw. Vera sat down on the edge of the sofa next to her.

  “About a week ago, I received a letter stuffed under my door. I opened it and it was a note made up of letters clipped from a magazine or newspaper or something.” Her hands started to shake.

  Khendra reached over and patted her knee. “Go on, Vera. What did it say?”

  “It said if I said anything to anyone, I’d regret it. And my…” the words caught in her throat, “daughter would be harmed first.” A slow trickle of tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Vera, listen to me. I know you’re afraid.”

  “You don’t know anything!” she screamed, leaping up from the sofa. “What would you know about losing someone, the fear that they won’t be there tomorrow? You, with your high-paying job and fancy clothes,” she sneered. “What would you know? Tell me!”

  Khendra swallowed back the knot of pain that caught in her throat. The agony of Vera’s words ripped through her, clouding her dark brown eyes. Words more powerful than the pain that assaulted her body.

  “I know,” she whispered. “And I’m about to lose again without your help.” Her eyes and her voice implored Vera to understand.

  Vera wiped away her tears, seeing in Khendra’s face the mirror image of her own lost hopes and newfound fears. She hugged herself, willing her body not to crumble.

  “What about my Kerry?” she asked in a shaky voice.

  The light of hope filled Khendra’s eyes. “I’ll arrange protection for both of you. I promise you that.”

  Agonized seconds passed. “I’ll go,” Vera said finally.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  With Vera and Kerry safely tucked away and Vera’s statement documented, the D.A. moved ahead with the warrant.

  “…and Max,” he said into the phone, “I also want a court order to have his bank accounts seized and all of his charge card receipts. Got it? Now move on it
.” He hung up the phone and looked up at Khendra.

  “Now we just wait, and hope that he doesn’t get wind of it.”

  Khendra stood with her hands folded in front of her, her face resolute. She simply nodded.

  Alex leaned back in his chair, his feet up on the desk, a look of contentment covering his face. Everything had worked out smoothly, he thought, and by tonight he would be gone.

  He picked up his plane tickets from the desk and inserted them into his inside breast pocket, patting it assuredly. He reached over and picked up a small bag, swung his legs to the floor and headed for the door.

  Ellen Counts watched with a mixture of fascination and regret as a half-dozen police officers went through her house. She could call Alex and warn him. But then again, why should she? Maybe now she could begin to live.

  The flight to Rio was scheduled to leave in twenty minutes. Right on time.

  The boarding call was announced. Alex moved easily through the crowd up to the gate, handed the stewardess his boarding pass and made his way across the ramp.

  There was a flurry of activity behind him, and he turned. Three men were pushing their way through the line, causing squeals and curses from the passengers.

  Alex froze as they rapidly approached and encircled him.

  “Alex Counts, we have a warrant for your arrest.”

  “There must be some mistake,” he said, panic holding him immobile.

  “I don’t think so, Counts,” Ed Damato said, seeming to appear from nowhere and moving steadily toward him. “Cuff him, Murphy, and read the man his rights.” He turned around in disgust and walked toward the exit.

  Sean stood silently next to Khendra as she waited for a cab to take her to the airport.

  “So what are you going to do now?” she asked, daring to look in his eyes.

  He shrugged and gave her a half-smile. “Try to start somewhere else, I suppose. I’ve had some offers.”

  She lowered her eyes. “Oh.”

  She doesn’t want to hear it, he thought, misery enveloping him.