Lawman Lover

by Saranne Dawson

  She was seething. If Neal Hadden had been here right now, she could have cheerfully strangled him. She wondered how much of this was personal, and how much could be attributed to the results of a newspaper poll announced just yesterday that showed her with a wide lead in their race.

  Probably both, she decided. But as Neal had pointed out in the accompanying article, her position gave her much greater name recognition at this point. No, she was convinced that it was more personal than political. Neal had seen them together at the restaurant that night, and he’d probably been stewing over it ever since.

  The very qualities that had made her end their relationship were the same ones that were now going to get her into trouble. Neal was too possessive. At first, she’d found his attention flattering, even charming, but fortunately, she’d soon seen it for what it was: an ugly possessiveness that would rob her of herself.

  She carried her briefcase inside, then up to her home office. Then she turned on the desk lamp. The room faced the front, where the detective could see it. She even let him see her before she closed the miniblinds. He probably wouldn’t stay long. He’d assume that she was going to stay home and work all evening.

  After that, she changed quickly into dark clothing and slipped out the back door. She made her way past the other condos, then through the narrow strip of woods that separated the complex from Westview Avenue, the street that ran behind it.

  Michael was already there, waiting. He reached across and pushed the door open, and she slid into the leather seat. He saw the look on her face and grinned.

  “Good thing Hadden wasn’t out there himself, or I’d be bringing you in on a murder charge right now.”

  “Or aggravated assault, at the very least,” she replied, relaxing somewhat in the face of his humor.

  “We’ll go out to the house,” Michael said as he pulled away from the curb. “I don’t think he’d have anyone watching my place, too, but the house will be safer.”

  “I can’t believe that we have to sneak around like this!”

  “That’s what you have to decide. It’s your call because you’re the one who has something to lose.”

  “You could, too, you know. He might accuse you of dragging your heels on the investigation.”

  “It’s still your call.”

  Neither of them said anything else as they passed through the downtown and then headed out to the North Hills area. She saw Michael checking the rearview mirror a few times, and then he began to make a series of unnecessary turns through an older residential neighborhood.

  “Do you think we’re being followed?” she asked, barely resisting the urge to turn and look behind them.

  “No, I’m just being careful. The problem with this car is that it’s too damn conspicuous.”

  Finally, he made his way back to the road that led to his new house, and a few minutes later, they came to a halt before the garage.

  “It looks like it’s almost finished,” she commented in surprise.

  “It will be in about another month. I’m planning to put the condo up for sale next week.”

  As they got out of the car, Amanda stared at the house. For the first time, she realized that she was staring at their future. The thought both thrilled her, and frightened her. Everything seemed to be moving too quickly. Where was her usual caution? Had it just gotten lost in the midst of everything else that was making demands upon her at the moment? Or was her future with Michael the one sure thing in her life right now?

  She turned to him and their eyes met, and suddenly none of those questions mattered. Michael got the quilt from the trunk, and they went inside. The evening was amazingly warm for April, more like a midsummer night. He spread the quilt on the floor of the balcony off the master bedroom. Amanda stared at the distant lights of the city. Their problems seemed just as far away.

  Their lovemaking began in an unhurried fashion: slow strokings and lingering kisses and soft words. Their bodies became erotic playgrounds: familiar to each of them by now, but still exciting. Michael was patient, considerate, and very thorough. He was the dream lover she could not have imagined years ago in the midst of her innocent longings.

  But even as they meandered along love’s byways, hunger coursed through them both, building the rhythm, urging them on. Michael lifted her atop him, and she welcomed him into her and they both shuddered and cried out, simultaneously welcoming the moment and protesting its passing. Their cries momentarily rose above the chittering of the spring peepers, then subsided into soft moans and gasps as the rhythmical sounds from the darkness swelled once more.

  Wrapped close together in the quilt, they listened to the sounds. An owl called from quite close by, startling them both with its eternal question.

  “That’s a great horned owl,” Michael said.

  “How do you know that? Have you seen it?”

  “No, I bought a bird book. Every time I come up here, I keep seeing birds I’d never seen before. The best was a pileated woodpecker. Have you ever seen one of them?”

  “I’ve seen woodpeckers, but I’m not sure which kind they were.”

  “If you’d seen a pileated, you’d remember it. You probably saw downies or hairies. They’re pretty common. Pileated woodpeckers are huge—as big as crows. They’re gray and white with this big red comb on their heads. The book says they’re mostly a deep-woods bird. You should see the size of the holes they drill in trees.”

  She smiled. “Give a man a house in the woods, and he turns into a bird-watcher. That could be bad for your tough-guy image, Michael.”

  “So we’re both a little schizophrenic. What about your ice-queen image, Ms. District Attorney?”

  She laughed, but the laughter died away quickly as she thought about why they were out here, instead of at her condo. “What are we going to do?”

  “We have two choices,” he said firmly. “Either we stay away from each other until after the election, or we go public now.”

  “But there’s a third choice,” she protested. “We can continue as we are.”

  Michael shook his head. “Sooner or later, Hadden will catch us.”

  She remained silent, thinking. He was probably right. It was surprising that they hadn’t been caught yet. And then there was the ethical question. Didn’t the public have a right to know about them before they chose a district attorney? She doubted that it would make any difference to the public’s mind, but if Neal Hadden told them why it should...

  “I need to think about it for a few days,” she told him. “I really want the job.”

  “I know you do, but will you feel as though you’ve really won if you win by lying?”

  “It’s not really lying,” she protested. “I know that my decisions about cases will never be influenced by you, and if there’s a case where I think it could, I can always bounce it off the rest of the staff. They wouldn’t be afraid to speak up.”

  “I know that and you know that, but there could be those in the media who would claim otherwise.”

  She clenched her fists. “Do you know what I want? I want just one thing to be settled. I’m tired of questions.”

  Michael chuckled and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “One thing is settled, and that’s us. We both know what we want.”

  Or at least he did. And she did right now. It took all of Michael’s willpower not to ask for her promise that nothing could change the way they felt about each other.

  AMANDA WAS STILL SAVORING her victory in court when she pulled into Jesse’s driveway. Before coming here, she’d stopped at Ted’s apartment to share the victory with her chief assistant. The jury had been out only three hours before convicting on all counts.

  Unfortunately, Ted’s medication had prevented him from enjoying the expensive single-malt Scotch she knew he liked, so they’d had to content themselves with some toasts with orange juice. Still, the victory had been just as sweet, and the evening news reports had been very flattering to her.

  She got out of her
car slowly, her thoughts turning to Jesse, who’d been released from the hospital the day before. Steve had called her yesterday evening. He had to go to Virginia on business—an appointment he couldn’t get out of. He’d be back tomorrow, but he didn’t want Jesse to be alone, and Jesse, somewhat grudgingly, had agreed to let Amanda spend the night.

  Amanda was frankly surprised that she’d agreed at all. She would have thought that Jesse would prefer their father’s company to hers, and he was still in town, and still disgruntled over her refusal to see him.

  It was enough to make Amanda wonder, for the first time, if Jesse had suffered too from being the favorite. She’d never given that any thought before.

  Amanda had decided to tell Jesse about Michael and her. Steve already knew, but he hadn’t told her, and he’d agreed that telling Jesse now might serve to take her mind off whatever was troubling her—for a time, at least. It was a way to get through what could otherwise be a difficult night, and besides, Amanda really did want to tell someone, even though she hadn’t yet decided what to do.

  Jesse must have heard her car because she opened the door as Amanda was coming up the walkway. Amanda was relieved to see that her sister looked well. If she hadn’t yet regained her usual vivaciousness, neither did she look as haggard as she’d looked in the hospital.

  Impulsively, Amanda hugged her. Jesse appeared startled, as well she might, since the two of them rarely displayed any affection. But she hugged Amanda back and thanked her for coming.

  “Steve insists on babying me,” Jesse said with a grimace. “I think he still believes that I was planning to kill myself.”

  She stepped back and stared intently at Amanda. “Did you think that?”

  “No, I didn’t,” Amanda lied, then decided to be completely honest. “Okay, the thought did cross my mind at one point, but I didn’t really believe it. You’re just not the type.”

  Jesse nodded. “You’re right, but I feel better knowing that you know that, too. Have you eaten yet? I made Mother’s chicken casserole.”

  Amanda smiled. “No, I haven’t. I haven’t made that for ages.”

  “Neither had I,” Jesse said as they walked through the dining room into the kitchen. “But I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately, so I decided to make it.”

  Amanda slanted her a glance, wondering why she’d been thinking about their mother now. But she decided not to ask. In any event, Jesse had launched into a monologue about some new items that had come into the store that she thought Amanda might like. She’d apparently gone to the shop, which Amanda thought was a very good sign.

  They ate dinner over small talk of the kind they’d always engaged in. Jesse seemed almost herself, and Amanda wondered what that meant. Had she talked it out with her therapist and made some sort of decision? But did she understand that if she had information that was relevant to the Eve Lauden case, she would have to talk to Michael?

  Or would she? There wasn’t much Michael—or anyone—could do if Jesse continued to insist that she knew nothing. And maybe she really didn’t.

  After dinner, they moved to the living room with their cups of latte, and Amanda decided that it was time to tell Jesse her own secret. She was already very curious to see what her reaction would be.

  “I have something to tell you—something that I know is going to surprise you,” she began.

  Jesse frowned slightly, but said nothing.

  “Michael and I are lovers. We’re going to be married, although...”

  Jesse smiled, then laughed aloud. “I knew it. I told Steve a while ago that something was going on between you two—the night of our party, as a matter of fact. You were hiding it pretty well, but Michael wasn’t.”

  “Actually, we’ve both been hiding it, but I don’t think we’ll be able to much longer.” She told Jesse about the private detective.

  “Neal Hadden is a scumbag!” Jesse cried. “I never understood what you saw in him. I just couldn’t imagine having him as a brother-in-law.”

  “You never said anything at the time.”

  “Of course not. I was confident that you’d come to your senses.” She smiled. “I like Michael. The two of you make a great couple.”

  “We do? Why do you say that?”

  “Because you do. I can’t explain it. I remember seeing the two of you out on the terrace together at Mayor Teddy’s party years ago, and thinking then that something was going to happen. Then, when it didn’t, I kind of forgot about it until you were both here that night of the party.”

  “Something did happen that night—after Mayor Teddy’s party, I mean.”

  Jesse’s eyes widened in surprise. “And then you waited, what, nine or ten years?” She shook her head. “You’ve always been so careful, but this is ridiculous!”

  “We weren’t seeing each other all that time. It didn’t start until...recently.” She’d been about to say until Eve’s body was found, but now she hurried on to explain that their positions had brought them together again.

  Amanda then told her about the problem: his job and hers. It took some explaining, because Jesse claimed that she couldn’t see the conflict. But even when she did, she came down solidly on the side of telling the world.

  “I think you should get married as soon as possible,” Jesse stated, rather startling Amanda with her firmness. “Don’t wait any longer.”

  “Um, well, I was thinking about getting engaged, and then having the wedding after the election.”

  But Jesse was insistent that they should do it now. Amanda felt slightly uneasy at her forcefulness. She protested that she hadn’t even told their father.

  “Don’t tell him! Just do it! Then he’ll have no choice but to accept it.”

  “But, Jesse, that isn’t being fair to him!”

  “We both know he isn’t going to approve, so what’s the point in telling him beforehand? Besides, all he cares about now is being confirmed.”

  “He really is a snob, isn’t he?” Amanda said quietly, thinking back to her father’s comments about Michael—and about Eve Lauden.

  “Yes, and I don’t want to talk any more about him.”

  AMANDA WAS DISORIENTED. It took her several panicky moments to remember that she was at Jesse’s. She’d never stayed in her sister’s guest room before. Then, when she remembered where she was and why she was there, she wondered what could have awakened her. Was it Jesse?

  She listened carefully, but heard nothing. After seeming to be fine most of the evening, Jesse had slowly become quieter, withdrawing almost imperceptibly. As the silences between them had grown heavier and more fraught with tension, Amanda had expected that, at any moment, Jesse was going to reveal her secret. But in the end, nothing had been said, and Amanda had gone off to bed both frustrated and relieved.

  The truth was that she didn’t know what she would do if Jesse talked and if the information she had pointed to someone from the island being Eve Lauden’s murderer. Being torn between old family loyalties and her belief in justice was, to her way of thinking, the worst possible dilemma—a dilemma that might well be tearing her sister apart right now. Jesse might not work in the legal system, but both of them had been raised in it by a father who had an unshakable faith in that system, despite its many flaws.

  She continued to listen for any sounds that might indicate that Jesse was awake, but the house remained silent. Finally, knowing that she couldn’t get back to sleep until she’d assured herself that Jesse was also asleep, she got out of bed, opened her door and peered down the dimly lit hallway toward Jesse’s room.

  Her door was open! Amanda hurried down there, only to find the bed empty and the covers askew. Fear clutched at her as she ran back along the hallway, then down the stairs. The living room was dark, but even before Amanda reached the bottom of the stairs, she could see a dim light spilling into the dining room from the kitchen.

  Jesse turned away from the stove and saw her as Amanda came to an abrupt halt in the kitchen doorway. She was cradling a m
ug in both hands. Tears glistened in her eyes. She set the mug onto the table, and Amanda rushed to her.

  The two sisters clung to each other silently for a long time, with Jesse’s tears wetting Amanda’s cheeks, as well as her own.

  “Jesse, please don’t let this destroy you!” Amanda cried, then stepped back to stare into her sister’s face. “It isn’t worth it.”

  Jesse swiped at her tears, then sank into a chair and wrapped trembling fingers around the mug. The kettle was still boiling, and Amanda prepared a mug of tea for herself, noting that her own fingers were trembling, as well.

  As she sat down across from her sister, Jesse fixed her with an intent stare. “Promise me that you’ll marry Michaell” she said in an oddly demanding tone.

  Amanda was confused, but she managed to nod. “Of course I will. I told you that I love him.”

  “Don’t let him change that!” Jesse said in the same intent tone.

  “Let who change that?” Amanda asked in confusion.

  “Father.”

  Amanda frowned, still not quite comprehending. Did Jesse believe that their father could somehow prohibit her from marrying Michael?

  “He can’t stop me,” she said patiently. “Of course I’d be happier if he accepts Michael, but...”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Jesse interrupted, then paused, her gaze fixed on Amanda unwaveringly. “What I meant was that you can’t hate Michael because he has to arrest Father.”

  Amanda had lifted the mug to her lips, but now she set it back down again with exaggerated care. “Wh-what are you talking about?”

  “He killed her,” Jesse said softly, then repeated it much more loudly, nearly shouting. “He killed her!”

  “Jesse, you can’t mean that! I don’t know what you think you know, but...”

  “Don’t tell me what I don’t know!” Jesse cried. “I’ve had to live with this for years now. Sometimes, I’d almost forget about it, but then it would come back again.

  “I wasn’t really sure, you see. I thought that she’d gone to the city, too. I thought he’d paid her off and sent her away. That was bad enough, but then, when they found her body...” Jesse lapsed into silence as the tears once again spilled over, running down her cheeks and trickling off her chin.