by Ann Mullen
“You have it all wrong,” Sheriff Hudson said. “I don’t know him. We picked him up over at Sal’s for being disorderly in public. Jesse, I would never do this to you or anyone else.”
“You’re lying! You planted him there to harass me, but he went too far. He smashed my face in… and… oh, Lord… he had the worst breath. Smelled like rotten meat. Next time you do this to someone, get the guy to brush his teeth and gargle first.”
“Sorry about the bad breath, but I don’t control people’s hygiene, and as far as the assault on you, I’m going to reprimand my deputies.”
“No! You can’t do that. It wasn’t their fault. I never should’ve gone near that guy.” I took another sip of water. “Your deputies saved my life.”
“I’m glad you’re going to be all right.”
“So who was the creep that beat my face in? One day I’d like to return the favor.”
Sheriff Hudson didn’t answer my question, but instead said, “I’m not making excuses, but my deputies at the station house were overloaded with work. They caught the attack on screen just when you hit the floor, but missed what led up to it. As I said, they had their hands full. So, after viewing the playback, it’s hard to tell who started the altercation. You’re the one who stuck your arm through the bars first, and he’s claiming it was an unprovoked attack.”
“Are you nuts?” I shrieked. “He attacked me! Look at this mug!” I demanded, pointing to my face. “Does this look like an unprovoked attack? I gave the guy my leftover Twinkie, and this is what I got in return.”
“You can file an assault charge against him if you want to, but until my guy analyzes the video, I can’t arrest him. He hasn’t filed charges against you yet, so—“
“He’s not going to,” I said, sarcastically. “He’ll wait for another opportunity to…” A memory of the last thing the guy said to me flashed back.
“Next time, I’m going to kill you.”
“Oh, man! The last thing he said to me was that the next time he was going to kill me.” I hesitated and then asked again, “What’s his name, sheriff? I have a right to know.”
“Gavin Preston.”
Mom and Billy glanced at each other with a freaky look on their faces, and then stared at the sheriff. I could tell they knew something, but it wasn’t something they wanted to share.
A nurse walked in and said, “Sheriff, you have an urgent call.” She motioned to him. “You can take it at the nurse’s station right over there.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“As if I can,” I yelled to him as he was walking out of the room. I looked at Mom and Billy. “Was he trying to make a joke? Because if he was, it wasn’t funny.”
“Give him a break,” Mom said. “He’s devastated over this. He didn’t want you to get hurt. It was a bad call on his part. That’s all.”
“Tell that to my battered face. I need a mirror. Give me yours, Mom. No need to put it off. It must be bad. My face hurts something fierce. Giving birth was less painful.”
Mom handed over her compact. I opened it and held the mirror out far enough to get a glimpse of my entire face. What stared back at me wasn’t pretty. I looked as if I had gotten into a fight with a meat grinder, and it had won.
“Geez, Louise! I can’t go out in public like this. I look like Frankenstein’s bride.”
“It’s not that bad,” Mom said. “Who cares what your face looks like anyway? You’re going to be okay. That’s what’s important.”
“I’m not going back to jail,” I stated, emphatically. “I don’t care what Sheriff Hudson says. I think I’ve done my time. He got his point across.”
Sheriff Wake Hudson walked back into the room in time to hear what I had said. I looked at him and repeated my intent. “I mean it! I’m not going back! I don’t care what you say. I’ve paid my dues. I could’ve died in there. I almost did.”
The sheriff held up his hand and said, “You’re free to go out and wreak havoc on the world again. Just remember what I said. Keep your promise, so you won’t wind up in my jail again. I don’t think my nerves can handle it.”
“You’re just full of jokes, aren’t you? I almost die in your jail and you joke about it.”
“What I meant is…”
“I know what you meant. You’re not going to make me go back and serve the rest of my time because you want to cover your butt. What would the public think if this ever got out?”
The sheriff turned to Billy and said, “Since she’s not going to give me a chance to explain, I guess I’ll tell you.” He went on to give us the bad news. “Gavin Preston has been released.”
“What?” I screamed. “You let him go after what he did to me? Have you lost your mind? Nurse! I need a Valium!”
Sheriff Hudson turned to me and said, “Calm down, Jesse. His lawyer got him out. Due process. We had to let him go. I’m sorry for what happened to you. If you’d like to press charges…”
“One thing is for sure, Sheriff Hudson—I don’t want to ever go to jail again. If I have to go the straight and narrow, I will. Jail ain’t for me.”
I could see the relieved look on the sheriff’s face, and it was heartfelt. He actually did care.
“You’re not going to have to worry about my lawless behavior anymore, Sheriff Hudson. I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m not even going to hold this against you. It wasn’t your fault. I realize that now.”
I didn’t blame the sheriff anymore, but the rest was a lie. I wasn’t going to let this one go.
Before the sheriff walked out of the room, he turned and said, “I’ll check on you later.”
“I won’t be here!” I yelled to thin air, and then turned back to Mom and Billy. “Get me out of this place. It’s payback time!”
I never expected my day to turn out like this, but now that it had, I was even more determined to get to the truth. I was going to find every dirty little secret The Body Shop had… and I was going after Gavin Preston. I was going to draw blood.
Chapter 6
It was daylight before we left the hospital. I was not happy, in pain, and wanted payback. I would have my face-to-face with Gavin Preston, and the next time we met, he’d be the one who’d be sorry—sorry he ever hurt me. Somehow, I would do to his body what he had done to my face.
“Gavin Preston is Dakota Stone’s driver,” Billy said on the ride home from the hospital.
“I knew you were holding something back! I figured there had to be a reason the guy smashed in my face. Why didn’t you tell the sheriff?”
“And let him know that we were investigating the Stone woman?” Billy grunted. “We made a deal, remember? One more slip-up and we’re going to jail. He let you slide on this one. Next time he won’t let it go. We have to play it clean.”
“Dakota knew you were in jail,” Mom added. “She had you arrested and then sent her henchman in to rough you up. What better way to get to you? She’s a smart and dangerous woman. I told both of you that.”
“Yeah, but… she had to have known they could link Preston to her. He is her driver.”
“She’d say it was a coincidence… that she has no control over what he does off the job. That’s what I’d say if it were me.”
“You know, something isn’t right about Preston. His breath smelled like rotten chicken mixed with a spoonful of molasses. How gross is that?”
No one responded, as if his breath had nothing to do with anything. Maybe it didn’t, but if he ever came near me again, I’d smell that rancid odor way ahead of time.
“There’s more bad news,” Mom sadly said, resisting the urge to cry as her eyes watered up. “That urgent call the sheriff got was to tell him that Mae was dead.”
“How did you find out?”
“Bad news travels fast. Mae was murdered, suffocated with a pillow. The pillow was still on her face when the nurse rushed in to check on her. Seems Mae managed to press the call button before she died. We just found out, but didn�
��t want to tell you—”
“Stop! I can’t take anymore bad news.”
I felt like crying, but I was all cried out. Mae was dead, and I had a pretty good idea who had killed her. It was obvious that the blood trail would lead straight to Dakota’s front door. I had to close my eyes to shut out all the death happening around me.
By the time we reached our house, the latest round of painkillers had kicked in and I had fallen asleep. A bump in the driveway woke me, and after seeing two black Hummers parked out front, I was wide-awake.
I glanced over at Billy and thought about how much I loved him. Even after eight years of marriage, I was still attracted to him just as much as I was when we first met. He was handsome, strong and loving, and he had integrity. That means a lot to a woman. I laid my head back for a minute and let the images of his naked body flow through my mind like a slideshow. My sexual urges were getting ready to go into hyper-drive again… but my body laughed at the idea.
Billy parked next to Mom’s yellow canary, and then the three of us got out and headed for the house.
“Are we having a powwow?” I asked, walking in the door. “Is this a welcome home party or a black ops meeting?”
“All of the above,” Jonathan replied, walking to the door to greet us. “We’re glad you’re home, and we’re getting ready to go silent. Mae’s murder changed everything.”
“It’s the same thing as circling the wagons,” Mom explained as if I hadn’t heard that phrase before.
The smile on Billy’s face was such a relief. Since his mother’s illness, he had been in a dark place, but now he was back and ready for action!
Helene, the dogs, and another man stood by the dining room table. The other guy was an extremely well-built, square-shouldered, chiseled jawed black man. Including Billy, I was now standing in the middle of three men who looked as if they could flatten you with their thumb.
Athena and Thor were so glad to see me that they almost licked me to death. I smiled, instead of telling them to get down like I normally do. After a few caresses, they got bored and ran off to their food bowls, forgetting about me. A dog’s love is unlike any other. All they want is affection and food. They had gotten their affection, now it was time for food.
No one said anything about the way my face looked. Not even Helene. I guess she’d seen worse since she’d been living with us, and from the look of the guys around me, I knew they had. I could just tell. They probably put my injuries in the same category as a mosquito bite.
“It’s been done,” Jonathan said to Billy. “Lu Ann has the children. They’ll be safe. Mason and Gator are on the job.”
“My children?” I looked around and then back to Billy. “Where are the kids?” I looked at Jonathan. “Mason and Gator? Who are they?”
“The murder of Mae Bridges brought this to a whole new level,” Billy said. “It proves there’s something to what she told us about Dakota Stone. Why else was she murdered? People are getting bumped off one by one, and we’re not going to let it go any further. Dakota Stone’s reign of terror stops here.”
“I’ll fix something to drink,” Helene said. “Coffee, tea, or booze?” She scanned the faces in the room, and then excused herself as if she didn’t want to hear me go into another one of my rages.
“It’s seven o’clock, Helene,” Mom shot back. “Who wants booze this early in the morning?”
“I can’t believe Mae’s dead, but I should’ve seen it coming. She was right to be terrified of Dakota Stone and her buddies. They tried to kill me and failed, and then they went after Mae and succeeded. I’m sorry about Mae. Next time Gavin Preston comes after me, I’ll be ready… and I’m going to pay him back for killing Mae.”
I soon learned that Gator and Mason were part of Jonathan’s covert team of guys who had done battle together in more ways than one. I knew of Jonathan’s past, and if these guys were his pals, we had a real fighting force on our side. But what did we need with them? We could handle the Stone woman and her killer friends.
“I need to sit down,” I said, walking over to the kitchen table with Mom by my side. We both took a seat and looked up at the men in the room. “What a bunch of scary looking dudes,” I said. “I’d hate to meet either one of you in a dark alley—you included.” I looked over at Billy.
They laughed. I shivered. I figured Dakota Stone was the ringleader and Olivia Swales was just another one of her patsies in crime just like Gavin Preston—except that Preston was the killer in the group. These guys were here to bring them down.
Jonathan introduced his comrade as he motioned to the tall, black guy. “This is Shark. He’s the one you really have to look out for. He’ll chop off your head in a heartbeat.” Jonathan made a sweep across his throat with his hand to emphasize his point.
My mouth dropped after sizing the man up. He was a mammoth, bodybuilding type guy, six-two, and weighed at least one-ninety, and not an ounce of it was fat. His head was shaved and he was dressed neck-to-toe in black—black T-shirt, black pants, and black boots, the same as Jonathan. They both had a tiny gadget in one ear, and strapped to their belts was a cell phone, gun, and some kind of device I’d never seen before. Perhaps it was a ray gun. They had everything else. I learned later that their gear also included knives in their boots and rocket launchers in their Hummers.
“Shark… is that your first or last name?”
“Only one name is necessary, Mrs. Blackhawk,” Shark replied in such a way that I half expected him to salute me. His build, mannerisms, and speech made me think of Denzel Washington, only a much, much larger version… with no hair. He had to have been a Marine in his other life. He was disciplined and tough. I remember hearing that Marines were once called Devil Dogs. Now I can see why. Shark was like a Pit Bull on steroids. Extremely dangerous.
On the flip side, did I mention he was good looking, or that he had muscles that bulged with each movement? Every man’s nightmare. Every woman’s dream.
“Please, call me Jesse,” I replied in a soft voice. I wasn’t flirting, just trying to ease the tension in the room. So many alpha males in one place were overwhelming. “Mrs. Blackhawk is too formal if we’re going to kill people together. We’re a team, right?” I looked at Billy for confirmation.
You see, I knew that if Billy and Jonathan brought in this badass guy, he expected me to sit this one out, but I wasn’t about to do that, and I told him so.
“I would never leave you out, `ge ya,” Billy said, winked, and then looked at everyone else. Then, he focused his attention on Jonathan, waiting for him to dole out orders.
Jonathan took command and said, “Shark, I want you to take Minnie to her house…”
“What?” Mom asked.
He looked at Mom. “He’s going home with you so you can pack a few things and then come back here. It’s the only way we can keep you safe. He’ll help you with Eddie.”
“Hold on,” I interrupted. “What am I missing?”
Jonathan reached over, grabbed the folder that had been sitting on the counter, and then handed it to me. I opened it, looked at some of the paperwork and sucked in my breath. I looked over at Billy. “When did you find out about the others?”
“Just last night,” he replied. “Jonathan had to do some serious digging before he pieced it together. Nobody, not even the cops made the connection that there have been two other men that were murdered, and the one thing they all had in common was that their wives belonged to the same spa. Guess that never came up.”
“Figures,” Helene sneered. “A simple connection and the cops still couldn’t get it right. You did good, Jonathan.”
“Actually, Lu Ann’s the one who came up with the connection. She’s the criminal profiler in the family. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff she can piece together. It’s as if she sees into a killer’s mind. Give her the details of the crime and she can tell you all about the suspect. Sometimes it’s almost scary.”
“I can’t believe anything would scare you, Jonathan
,” Mom said, lovingly. She adored him and everyone in Billy’s family. She made it a point to tell everyone she could that I was lucky to have married into a family like Billy’s. They were the absolute best, so diverse in their careers, and so close and loving. On and on and on. Bless her kind heart.
“These deaths weren’t just random acts of violence,” I said, flipping through the pages in front of me. “One a year for the last three years. Hmm. She’s been a busy gal.”
“Mae swore Dakota was running a hit shop and not just a spa!” Mom added. “Not in those exact words, but that’s what she meant. And now she’s dead, and it wasn’t the lightning that killed her.”
Jonathan reached over and pulled out a photo from the bottom of the file. “Here’s an image of the person who was last seen leaving Mae’s room before she died. It’s not the best, it’s a little fuzzy, but you can see the eyes. Maybe you’ll recognize the face. A nightshift nurse didn’t get a good look at him, but she definitely saw him walking out of Mae’s room. I got this photo from a hospital camera, and don’t ask me how.”
I looked at the photo. It was grainy, but there was no doubt about who those eyes belonged to. “It’s him! It’s Gavin Preston.”
“We know,” Jonathan said. “Just wanted to see if you concurred. This photo was captured an hour after he was released from jail, so he had the opportunity, and this picture proves it.” He passed the photo to Mom. “Have you ever seen this guy before?”
“Oh, my Lord!” she exclaimed. “I think I might have passed him in the hallway at the hospital. Who could forget those menacing eyes?” She thought for a second. “Are you telling me he snuck into Mae’s room and killed her while we were still at the hospital with Jesse?”
“According to the time stamp, it looks that way,” Billy added.
“I can’t believe he was that close to me again,” I murmured. “He killed Mae right under our noses. He could’ve gotten to me if I’d been alone.”
Mom cocked her head as if she was thinking about something, and then asked, “Shouldn’t we give this information to the police? I mean, I think I saw him at the hospital, and we know he’s connected to Dakota.”
