by Lyric James
It wasn’t any of the scenarios she’d originally come up with. It wasn’t an old female acquaintance looking for revenge. It wasn’t some other personal connection.
The only thing left was work. Someone in this stack of files had to be sending the letters.
After she rearranged the files, she plucked the top from the list. The slimy senate pro-tem. Outside of a few fixed parking and speeding tickets and a small penchant for paying to see twenty-year-olds in strip clubs, Jade didn’t think Senator Franklin was her man.
“Hello?” she heard from the other room.
Jade walked quickly through the adjoining door and closed it. No one needed to be in Rhys’ office, especially when she had a file on half the people who worked in this building sitting on his conference table. “Hey, Cecily. Can I help you?”
“Oh, no. I heard that the lieutenant governor had to leave town for an emergency. Family business?”
Jade paused. Something was off about Cecily’s expression. “I’m not sure. He really didn’t have a chance to tell me. He’s supposed to call later.” She didn’t admit that later should have been forty-eight hours ago.
“Well, I just came in to see if there was anything I…I mean Senator Franklin or I could do, and I came by to pick up the latest round of pardon approvals. Since Rhys is gone, the governor asked the senator to look at them instead.” She took a step toward Jade’s desk.
“Oh good,” Jade said, rummaging around on her desk. “Here they are. That’s one less thing Rhys has to worry about.”
Cecily took the files, tucking them to her chest. “You’re staying for the watch party this evening, aren’t you?”
Crap. Jade had forgotten. The city was voting on a new sales tax the governor had put his support behind, and they were having a watch party to see the results roll in. “Yes. I’ll stop by to show my face, at least.”
“Excellent.” She walked toward the exit and shifted the bundle in her arms. “Again, if you need my help, just let me know,” and gave a little wave then left, closing the door behind her.
Who cared about whether or not some low-life criminals received a pardon? As far as she was concerned they were exactly where they were supposed to be. In jail.
Jade shook her head. These files have been sitting on Rhys’ desks for weeks, even before she started working for him. His secretary had left her a note that the files were due back on the Governor’s desk by the end of November. Even though it was ultimately the governor’s decision if someone was pardoned for their crimes or not, Rhys confided to her that he always gave them to Rhys first to get his opinion. Nine times out of ten, he agreed with what Rhys suggested and took it from there.
Jade had sifted through them out of sheer nosiness to see who the prisoners were who were asking to be set free despite the crimes they’d committed. Off the top of her head, she remembered there were two murderers, some guy who’d robbed a bank where a teller got shot, and a couple of repeat offenders who’d exhausted their three strikes and were sent to jail without the possibility of parole. But she didn’t have time for that now, nor did Rhys so she was glad Cecily had come by to pick them up. Let Senator Franklin worry about those lowly criminals, and Rhys could spend some time with his daughter and make sure she was safe.
Despite the fact he hadn’t called, she still had a job to do, so she went back to his office to continue looking over the background checks. Next was Jack Carmichael, a man so squeaky clean she could probably wash her hands with his file. She’d never run across anybody that good before, but obviously there was at least one person, other than Rhys, who wasn’t a backstabbing political cutthroat. As far as she could tell, he didn’t cheat on his wife, had no secret penchants, and paid his taxes on time.
Jade moved through the pile methodically until way after it was time for her to leave. She only had about fifteen or so files left to go and she’d come up with nothing. Not one single person had something in their history connecting them to Rhys, which would give them a reason to get back at him by harming Maya. It was down to the directors and the secretarial pool. She was having doubts about her career choice.
Because it was getting so late, she put the folders she’d finished in a cabinet she could lock in Rhys’ office, then made a pile of the ones left and stuck them in her shoulder bag to take home.
Jade moved around the periphery of the ballroom, smiling and speaking to people as she did so, and mentally going through the files she’d absorbed about so many of the individuals standing around her. She was sure they’d be surprised to know she knew so much personal information about them.
Cecily stopped her as she rounded a table.
“Hi, Jade. This is my husband, Douglas Davis.”
Jade smiled. Double D. She wondered if he ever got teased in grade school about that.
“Honey, this is Jade. She’s working temporarily in Rhys’ office while his secretary is out on maternity leave.”
Jade stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Douglas.”
He took her hand in both of his, a wry grin on his face. “Oh, please, call me Dewayne. I don’t know why she always introduces me as Douglas. She knows I hate it, and no one calls me that.”
A memory swam around the recesses of Jade’s mind. “Douglas Dewayne Davis,” she asked.
He nodded his head, smiling. “Yep. Triple D. Both my mom and my dad’s names begin with D, so they made sure all their kids names started with D too.” He lightly elbowed Jade in her arm and winked at her. “I got teased terribly when I was a kid about those two D’s, if you know what I mean.”
Jade saw a moment of shock slide over Cecily’s face. “Oh, honey, don’t tell her that.” But she saw something else on her face too. Wariness, worry…suspicion.
They’d just announced that the polls were now closed. The band began to play, and several couples moved onto the dance floor while others moved to the buffet tables that just opened.
“You two go ahead and enjoy yourselves,” she said and pulled her office keys out of the small pocket of her jacket. “I need to run up to my office for a minute.
Cecily grabbed her arm and pulled. “Don’t tell me you can’t take a few minutes away to celebrate. Rhys never kept his secretary that busy.”
“No. There’s a file I need to take a look at. I won’t be long.”
Jade watched Cecily and her husband walk away, glanced around to make sure no one saw her, and slipped out of the room and down the marble hallway.
She pulled out her cell phone and groaned when saw she had a missed call and a text from Rhys telling her he was on his way back from Fayetteville. She glanced at the time. He’d called her almost immediately after she’d walked into the party. The noise in the room masked his call. He should be landing any second now if he hadn’t already. But when she tried to return the call, his voice came over the line, and she only got his voicemail.
“Hey, Rhys. I think I’ve figured it out. I think I know who’s been sending you the letters. I’m on my way upstairs to Senator Franklin’s office. Call me as soon as you get this message.”
She hung up the phone and held back a scream. All this time and it had been right in front of her face on her damn desk before they left for Nashville, at least until she’d handed the pardon files over to Cecily. No wonder she’d come into the office that day anxious to get her hands on them. All of it had been put in play just to get Rhys out of town and out of the way so the senator could make the decision about who should be pardoned.
As soon as she got on the elevator and the doors closed, her phone rang. “Rhys?”
But all she heard on the other end was muffled static. “Rhys? Can you hear me?”
The line went dead, and she had to wait another three flights to get to the floor she wanted to be on. When she got off, her phone signaled a voicemail message. The hallway was eerily quiet since everyone was downstairs for the celebration. Senator Franklin’s office was easy to find. With Rhys’ keys, she had a master that allowed her to g
et into any office in the building, aside from the governor’s. She decided to wait and call Rhys as soon as she found the evidence.
She slid a look both left and right to make sure no one was around before she put the key in the lock and twisted. She shut the door quietly behind her and dashed to Cecily’s desk.
The lamp was still on, so she didn’t have to search in the dark. Yes. The files sat right on the corner. She sifted through them. Sure enough, there was a file inside for Daniel D. Davis. All those D’s. It was something she couldn’t easily forget, a parent using the letter D for each of their children’s names, both first and middle and last.
She read. Daniel D. Davis had been convicted of second degree murder ten years ago for killing his wife’s supposed lover. He’s spent the last decade at the Cummins Unit and was now, through his lawyer, asking for a pardon. She flipped a couple of pages and found the list of family members, and there it was. He had two sisters, each of their names beginning with the letter D, and one brother, Douglas Dewayne Davis.
She knew why they wanted Rhys out of the way now. Because they knew him, knew he’d never suggest the governor give him a pardon because of what he’d done. She was sure Cecily and her husband had devised a way to get him out of town for a week or so and knew that any outstanding business he left on his desk would most likely be passed along to the next in command, Senator Franklin, to handle. And what better way to get Rhys out of town than to threaten and endanger the life of his daughter?
And since Cecily handled all the outgoing correspondence, even if Senator Franklin said not to give the man a pardon, she could just as easily change it to a yes before passing the files on to the governor’s executive assistant, securing her brother-in-law’s freedom.
That was why they’d sent the letters. And when letter after letter hadn’t worked, Jade guessed they’d grown tired of waiting. That was why they sent the letter to the hotel and Maya’s accident happened while they were out of town.
A grin on her face, she placed the file back exactly where she’d found it in the stack and spun around to leave. Just as she pulled the door open, Cecily stood in the hallway, a smile on her face, a small silver pistol in her hand.
Chapter Fifteen
Jade stumbled back as her stomach rolled and a sour taste swelled in her mouth.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Cecily stepped in and kicked the door closed behind her with the deadly three-inch stilettos she wore. “Surprised to see me?”
With considerable effort, she kept the full body tremor from cascading down her spine. “Not really.”
Her eyes flitted to the door, which Cecily blocked, then behind her to the adjoining one that led to Senator Franklin’s office. If Jade could make it, she might be able to get away, but she didn’t know how good of a shot Cecily might be.
The gun was gripped tightly in her hand and never wavered. “I followed you, and I overheard you tell Rhys that you figured out who it was, but you needed to check something first. I knew you’d come up here. How’d you figure it out?”
Jade backed up some more and cleared her throat. “It was the name.”
“My husband, he’s such a people person, and so funny. He loves to tell that story to everyone he meets.” She tilted the gun to the side and lifted her shoulders.
If a gun wasn’t pointed at her chest, Jade would have almost thought they were having a casual conversation.
“But I saw it in your eyes as soon as he said it. Then you disappeared.”
Jade cursed herself for not waiting until the next morning or at least waiting until Rhys got there. She’d never been in this predicament before. Being behind the scenes of an investigation had made her too comfortable.
She’d never confronted or been confronted by anyone. She usually took a picture, developed it and gave it to the person who hired the firm. They did the confronting. This was new territory. However, one thing she knew, she had to keep Cecily talking. The longer that happened, the better her chances were of getting away and surviving. Rhys was probably on his way too. “You went through a lot of trouble just to get the lieutenant governor out of the way.”
“I knew he wouldn’t agree to the pardon. I know his record. He’s never pardoned a convicted murderer. The governor always follows his advice. We couldn’t take that chance.” She tsked. “So who are you anyway? Since you’re snooping around, you’re obviously not just a secretary. A cop? A private investigator?”
“I’m a private investigator. Rhys hired me to go undercover and find out who was sending him the letters.”
“If only you hadn’t been so nosy. If the lieutenant governor had left and gone to Fayetteville when he received the first letter…oh well.” Cecily didn’t blink one time. “Now, I’ll have to kill you.”
Jade shook her head, tasted sandpaper in her mouth. When she stepped back, her legs hit the edge of the desk. “You can’t shoot me in here. If you fire that gun, everyone will hear it and come running.”
Cecily shrugged her shoulders. “Over all the music and voices downstairs, not likely. Plus, we’re on the fourth floor. But I wasn’t planning to kill you here anyway.” She smiled. Evil glinted in the depths of her eyes. “We’re going to take a little trip.”
Jade eased to the right, hoping to move closer to the other door but before she could even think about turning to run, a pair of strong male hands gripped her shoulders, and she stifled a scream. Where the hell had he come from? He swung her around and yanked her toward the door she’d wanted to sprint for earlier. She wouldn’t get that chance now.
“Let’s go,” Dewayne told Cecily. “I already have the car running out back.”
“You know I already called Rhys,” Jade quipped. “He’ll be here any moment and wonder where I am.”
Cecily pressed the gun in Jade’s back, the barrel biting into her flesh through her shirt. “That may be true, but once we leave, he’ll have no idea where you’ve gone or who you’re with. Remember, you told him you thought you knew who was sending the letters. I was outside the door listening. You didn’t get a chance to call him back.”
Ice cold fear slid down Jade’s spine, and she swallowed.
Hard.
She knew if she got in the car with them, it would be over. They’d kill her before anyone had a chance to look. They’d gone too far to get Rhys out of the way. If they ran over a child with a car, they’d have no problem getting rid of her.
“We need to go down the back steps so no one will see us,” Cecily told Dewayne.
The iron grip of his fingernails dug into her forearms as he led her toward the end of the hallway to the exit. A hard lump of fear lodged in her throat as they descended the last set of steps. “You don’t have to do this,” she pleaded. “I won’t tell anyone. I’ll tell Rhys I was wrong, that I made a mistake.”
Something, she thought. She had to do something, say anything to get out of this situation. Five more minutes and she was a goner. She faked a trip, losing one of her shoes as her knee hit the ground, causing a sharp twinge of pain.
“Get up you clumsy bitch. Quit stalling,” Cecily spat out.
Dewayne yanked her back up and she stumbled out of the other shoe. Neither of them noticed she was now barefoot. Good. As soon as her foot hit the first patch of grass, she’d make her move. No way was she getting into a car with these two. No freaking way. The risk would be worth it, especially if it saved her life. Better dead here than dumped somewhere where no one would find her.
Douglas still held a tight grip on her arm when they stepped off the concrete. Cecily was directly behind her.
Now or never.
Stumbling again, Jade kicked back hard and plowed the heel of her foot directly into Cecily’s stomach. She dropped the gun. Douglas let go of Jade’s arm.
“Shit. Cecily, what happened?”
“Forget about me,” she gushed out. “Get her,” she yelled.
Before he could turn around, Jade kicked him in the butt and sent him spraw
ling on top of Cecily, and she took off at a dead run. All she needed was a little distance. If she could make it around to the front of the building, it would be even better because of the party. People would be coming and going all evening. Surely then, they wouldn’t come after her.
The harsh sound of running footfalls echoed behind her, and she urged her legs to pump faster. The corner of the building was twenty feet away. She had to make it.
Six feet now, she thought, pushing through the fear of being caught. Adrenaline shot through her veins like a rocket with a wash of anger, and it propelled her forward.
Jade heard a cacophony of sound all at the same time, but each one distinct and different from the other. A pop so heavy it was like a boom of thunder, a screech so loud it sounded like a million birds were winging their way overhead, singing.
Jarring, scathing, wrenching pain tumbled her to the ground.
“Jade!”
Another shot.
Screams.
“Douglas. Oh my God, Douglas. No!”
On the ground, Jade marveled at the many stars in the sky that night. They shimmered and dazzled like diamonds, and she wondered why a bunch of tiny needles were trying to escape out of her arm.
Rhys’ face swam into view through her tears.
“Jade. Jade. Damn it. Are you okay? Call an ambulance. Shit. She’s bleeding. Jade, talk to me.”
He was here. He made it. “It was Cecily and her...and her...”
His hands smoothed over her face. “I know. I kinda figured that out.”
A deep pressure pumped behind her eyes, and she winced. She didn’t want to talk anymore. So sleepy. So sleepy. She closed her eyes. The grass felt so good against her back. Soft and squishy like a pillow.
“Stay with me, Jade. Open your eyes!”
Why was his voice so harsh? That was not the voice she loved. It was smooth and rich like honey. A down-turned mouth and pinched lips shadowed his face when she forced her heavy eyelids up.
