When Ricki raised an eyebrow, Ray nodded. “It’s true. As soon as John was raised and went off to college, I started volunteering at the police department. I was there every day for ten hours, and I never missed out. Even on holidays I would sit outside in my car, or just walk around the building to stay warm.” He straightened his back. “I was serving my time.”
Ricki knew that Ray believed that, but it didn’t change what was. He’d committed murder, and so had John Graham, no matter how justified they both thought they’d been, with Ray wanting to protect the love of his life, and John determined to protect Ray. It still made no difference, and others had suffered as well. The thought of Amanda Cannady and her parents, as well as Anchorman lying so still in a bed, flashed into her mind. No matter how much she liked Ray, and she really did, he had no right to take a life. And she had no forgiving thoughts at all for John.
With nothing else to be said, she got to her feet and held out a hand. “It’s time, Ray. Chief Thomas is waiting for us. We need to go.”
Epilogue
“Uh-oh, uh-oh!”
The crowd standing at the bottom of the wide, curving staircase gasped and took a collective jump backwards as the strange contraption with a sleek metal body and protruding arms teetered on the edge of the top step. Every eye was glued to the bot as it gently rocked back and forth before balancing on both arms and lowering itself down a level.
Ricki smiled when the manager of the St. Armand exhaled a huge breath. He was standing next to her, a handkerchief in his hand as he busily dabbed at the beads of sweat popping out on his forehead.
When they’d arrived an hour ago, he’d nervously explained to her that a large wedding had needed an emergency change of venue and been booked into the glittering ballroom for the next day. The grand staircase was the favorite spot for wedding party photos, and the last thing he needed was to have cracked steps or splintered wood. Given his wringing hands and apologetic tone, Ricki was sure he would have canceled this little test of the bot if Clay hadn’t been standing next to her, giving the already jittery man that flat cop stare that plainly said he might arrest you at any moment.
Since the nervous man was back to wringing his hands, she gave him an encouraging smile before looking over at her son. Eddie’s dark hair was flopped over his forehead as he bent over the controls for the bot, all his concentration centered on his precious machine and the instructions Nate and Anson were calling out to him. Ricki smiled. Actually, yelling out would be more accurate. But despite their agonized looks and the high pitch in their voices, it was obvious the boys were having the time of their lives. She just hoped the poor manager’s heart survived it.
It took twenty more minutes to maneuver the bot down the last stretch of stairs, and when it finally made came off the bottom step and folded its arms inward before resting on the ballroom floor, a huge triumphant shout went up from the crowd, immediately followed by an enthusiastic and noisy round of applause. The boys all leaped into the air, then raced to the bot, hugging each other over the top of its squat metal body.
Ricki’s heart burst with pride and tears floated in her eyes. Her father would have been so proud of his grandson. She lifted her watery gaze and looked over at Bear. He was staring back at her, a huge smile on his face. He nodded, then shot his arms up in the air in the traditional sign of a touchdown, making her laugh.
The crowd watching had grown as the bot came down the steps. Not only were all the parents surrounding the boys and clapping loudly, but so were all their family and friends, as well as a good portion of the hotel’s staff.
“That’s quite a kid you have there, James.” Clay’s breath slid softly over her cheek.
Content, she leaned back against his chest and nodded. “Yes, he is.”
They stood together as Eddie rushed up, his face lit up with happiness. He gave Ricki a quick hug, and Clay a high-five along with a fist pump, before hurrying off after Anson to help Nate and his dad load their successful bot into their truck. The boys intended to ride in the back with it as they took a victory lap through town.
Ricki and Clay walked across the ballroom side by side, heading toward the hotel lobby, trailing along in the wake of the small parade escorting the conquering heroes and their creation to the parking lot.
“TK called this morning before the sun was even up,” Ricki said. “Anchorman came around last night.”
Clay grinned. “That’s good.”
“Uh huh,” Ricki agreed, a bubble of happiness and sheer relief slowly expanding inside of her. “Since he started issuing orders the minute his eyes were open, TK thinks he’s going to make a full recovery.”
“That’s even better news,” Clay said.
“When you talk to him, maybe it will help his recovery along if you let him know that Ray and his nephew have been transferred over to the county jail in Port Jefferson. They’ll stand trial there.” Clay tilted his chin down and smiled at her. “And after talking to the District Attorney, it sounds like you’ll be a star witness.”
She gave him a light jab in the side with her elbow. “You too. You were there every step of the way.” She grinned up at him. “We did this together.”
“Yes, we did. So, how’s Dr. Blake?” he asked with a roll of his eyes. “That was Blake who called when we were driving over here, in that lime-green piece of junk you bought, wasn’t it?”
“Charlie assures me the car is sound, and that it’s a jeep classic.”
Clay rolled his eyes. “It’s older than Eddie, and lime green to boot. There’s nothing classic about it unless butt ugly counts. And you didn’t answer my question about Blake.”
“Yeah, it was him on the phone, and he’s fine.”
Clay stuck his hands into his jacket pockets as he waited a moment, then shot her a sideways glance. “Well?”
All innocence, Ricki looked up at him. “Well, what?”
“I was sitting right next to you, Ricki. I heard you tell him that you’d let him know if you came across any other cases that you might need his help on.”
“And so?”
“And so, I’m glad you’re giving him the deep freeze.”
Now it was Ricki who rolled her eyes.
“Glad that meets with your approval. If we’re done discussing Jonathan Blake, I also heard from Josh last night.” That announcement effectively distracted Clay from asking anything else about the FBI profiler, which was exactly what she’d intended to do. “He’s taking some time off to search for whoever killed that deputy marshal.” She hesitated as she carefully chose her words. She didn’t want to keep anything from Clay, but she didn’t know how he’d react to her decision either. “He might need my help. If he does, I’ll be taking some time off too.”
Clay nodded. “Just let me know when so I can get my request in.”
Stunned, Ricki blinked, not sure what to say. “Clay, you don’t need to do that. This isn’t your fight.”
He lifted a finger and ran it down her cheek. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
She stared up at him for a long moment, then reached over and took his hand.
They walked out of the hotel and into the parking lot, where the celebration was still going on as Bear easily lifted the forty-pound bot into the bed of the truck. Ricki laughed and cheered along with everyone else. When the party finally drove off, she smiled up at Clay.
“Pizza and beer at my place?”
His smile was tinged with regret. “Unfortunately, I have to get back to work.”
Ricki grinned. “Fine. Pizza and beer at headquarters, and you’re buying.”
Thank You!
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One Final Breath: Author’s Notes
When you spend over 1200 hours on a computer, writing a novel, what can possibly go wrong? A fun, objective, and lighthearted look at the highs and lows of writing One Final Breath, the first book in the Special Agent Ricki James series, including a chapter on a murder that never made it to the final manuscript and more!
Note From the Author:
Dear Readers,
I know I’ve said this before, but I can’t say it enough about how much I appreciate you spending the time to read One Last Scream. It’s my first book under a new pen name in a new genre that I’ve wanted to write in for some time.
In today’s world, it would be almost impossible to never have heard of serial killers, or even murders that leave behind few clues and no obvious suspects. It’s a favorite subject on TV shows, both fiction and reality, and I admit that I’ve certainly read my share of books, and watched hundreds, if not thousands, of shows on murder. And of course, what I enjoy is the chase along with solving the puzzle of “who done it?” I love writing these stories— and sharing them!
I also love hearing from readers. You always have the most interesting and thoughtful takes on plot points, characters, setting suggestions, critiques— and I hope you’ll take advantage of signing up for my e-mail list so we can have those conversations. You’ll also receive a free copy of my notes on writing One Final Breath, the first book in the Special Agent Ricki James series. Writing a book is always a journey, and that one had its fair share of disasters along the way. They were no fun going through, but I have to admit, they’re kind of fun to read about now.
And one last request: if you have a spare moment, I would appreciate a review on Amazon, or if you are a member of Goodreads, a review there would be great too! The links to leave the reviews are:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nuHyy6
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3bnboCk
Once again—thank you very much! And if you get the FREE e-book, be sure to send me your opinion on whether or not I did the right thing in deleting that chapter!
Sincerely,
C.R. Chandler
One Last Scream (Special Agent Ricki James Book 2) Page 32
