Chapter Eight
Jake drummed the steering wheel, humming songs from a CD Flash Theory had produced three years ago. His favorite. For the first time since rehab, he had some of the old music in his head. They’d been good. And he felt good remembering.
He knew without a doubt Hammond would contact him. Ward might be cautious, but if he was any kind of businessman, he’d make Jake an offer. An hour with Penny had put the icing on the cake for his evening. Frosting was his favorite part. The more time spent with her, the more he wanted to be with her. She’d made him promise to wait up for her tonight. Like she needed to twist his arm.
Coasting to a stop in front of his sister’s, he cut the engine, noticing the house looked pretty dark. No porch light and no light came from the living room or kitchen side. It was only nine-thirty. He walked up the drive to avoid the gushy spots in the yard where the snow had melted. He looked forward to telling Mandy about the meeting, and announcing Penny’s agreement for spending Christmas at their parents.
His sister might be the one to confide in about his growing feelings for Penny. Or not. Might be too soon to share when he couldn’t be sure what was happening between them. He got out his keys. Might be too soon for him to get emotionally involved anyway; the ground beneath his feet wasn’t quite solid yet in spite of the fact everything that had happened since he arrived in Flagstaff pointed in that direction. He tried the door, and found it unlocked. Irritation clouded his thoughts. Small town or not, his sister needed to start locking the doors.
“Mandy?” He shut the door behind him, continuing to walk as he pulled off his gloves and unzipped his coat. “Mandy?” She must really be engrossed in the television. Her bedroom door stood open so he walked in without knocking. “Mand—”
His gaze darted to her empty bed and then to the floor. He couldn’t comprehend the scene.
Then the sky fell. The earth opened up, and he teetered on the edge. His legs gave and he dropped to his knees.
“Mandy!”
The mournful cry came from somewhere in the room. Digging his fingers into the carpet, he grasped the threads and pulled his body closer…and gagged. The scent of copper and wet carpet. This wasn’t real. Dazed, his vision grayed.
Do something.
Struggling, he fumbled for the cell in his pocket and averted his eyes from his fallen sister. This was wrong. He needed help. He focused on the phone and dialed nine-one-one.
“Hurry. Hurry. My sister…” Gasping, he gulped for enough air to speak as his gaze dropped to Mandy’s head. Tears blurred his vision. Red and black swirled and ran. “Blood. She’s—” He sobbed. “Oh, God.”
“Your sister is hurt.” The woman’s voice spoke calmly. “Are you all right, sir?” Kind, concerned.
“Yes, it’s my sister.” His throat tightened fighting back his sobs. “Help her.”
“Can you give me the address, sir?”
“What?” He closed his eyes. Listen to her. Concentrate.
“What’s the address? It will help me find you quicker.”
He half-turned, grasped the phone like a lifeline. “My sister’s house.” His heart pounded in his head, his chest. So fast, too loud. “It’s…Diamond Street.”
Jake gave the number as he opened his eyes, glanced around as if seeing the room for the first time. The empty bed.
Mandy?
The woman said something, but her voice echoed in his head like so much noise.
He gulped air.
Air. Jake scraped at the tape encircling Mandy’s head and covering her mouth. “Breathe, Angel.” Red, sticky. Why red? “Oh, Jesus, Angel, breathe.” The tape tangled in her hair. His fingers slipped on the wetness. He dropped the phone. With both hands, he gently picked strands of hair from the tape. “I’ll get this off. You need to breathe. I’ll get it.” Time stood still. He just needed to get the tape off.
Heavy hands landed on his shoulders. “Sir. You need to stop.” Feet moved around him.
He swung fists to fend off the intrusion. “She needs to breathe.”
Two men squatted beside Mandy. They wouldn’t listen. He fought the hands grabbing his arms.
“We’ll help her. Get him out of here. He’s in shock.”
****
Penny drove faster than she should, anxious to get home and into Jake’s arms. He’d lingered after dinner, hanging around check-in, wandering in circles around the lobby when she had to attend to business. She thought her face would freeze into a permanent smile, his nearness made her so happy. The yellow light from the aged chandeliers caught in his beard and sparkled in his eyes. The blue sweater he’d snared from Pete’s discarded clothes suited him and made him swoon worthy. The last hour of work dragged after he’d left the hotel. Her world hadn’t been this bright since her teen years.
She turned onto her street and slowed. Flashing lights. Multiple emergency vehicles and police cars…At her house?
A spasm tightened her stomach muscles and sent a wave of nausea. Pulling behind a police car parked in front of her drive, she shoved the gearshift into park, and leapt from the car, not bothering to shut the door. One foot hit the icy grass when she saw Jake sitting in the back of an ambulance. Where was Mandy? She changed directions and ran to the ambulance.
“Jake? Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
The overhead light brought out the auburn in his disheveled hair, creating a red halo around his pale face. Watery eyes gazed back at her. He nodded then grimaced as if the motion hurt.
“What’s going on?” With a trembling hand, she leaned in and touched his knee. Damp. Her fingers had landed on a deep red circle. “What happened?” The discoloration appeared to be blood, but a quick survey didn’t reveal any damage.
His mouth opened, but he only shook his head.
“Penny?” Officer Carlos Sanchez appeared beside her. She’d known Carlos for several years, from when he’d answered a break-in call at the hotel. “Penny, it’s Mandy.”
She started for the house, but he held on to her, swung her to face him, and took hold of her shoulders. “No. Stay here. There’s nothing you can do.”
“What do you mean?” Her scalp prickled, and her heart thumped. Swallowing deeply, she hugged herself, fearful of his next words.
“I’m sorry, Penny. She’s dead.”
Her knees buckled.
Carlos held her upright and backed her toward the ambulance, lowering her down to sit on the step.
Tears filled her eyes as she turned to Jake. He sat with his face in his hands, staring at the floor of the ambulance. She turned back to Carlos. “Why is he in the ambulance?”
“He found her. He went into shock, but the medics got him evened out.”
Now, the tears flowed freely. “Can I go to him?” She peered into the ambulance again.
“Yeah, go ahead. And both of you stay here, until…”
When his voice trailed off, she tore her gaze from Jake to question Carlos. “What?”
“The house is a crime scene, Penny.” The policeman’s stoic face went soft. “I’m sorry.”
The air thinned. “A…crime?” The policeman swayed before her eyes.
“Carlos,” someone called from the darkness beyond the ambulance.
He patted her arm and retreated.
Penny shakily stood, climbed into the ambulance, and joined Jake on the gurney. Tears continued a steady flow down her cheeks, and she sniffed and gulped a breath. “Can you talk, Jake?”
He slowly lifted his gaze from the floor to her face. His eyes were red rimmed and his cheeks colorless. She slid an arm around his bicep and hugged against him. “What happened?”
“She’s dead. Shot.” His monotone voice barely rose above a whisper.
“Sh-shot?”
He stared into her eyes, as if not totally seeing her. “Murdered.”
She reared back as if his words were fire burning her body. “Murdered?”
A tear trickled down his cheek. “Her hands…feet…mouth taped. Trussed.” He rubbed his eyes. “Shot in the…head.” His body trembled, and he took a ragged breath.
The air in the ambulance grew thin. A gray fog swirled and thickened. Her vision went black.
****
Jake held Penny’s hand, singularly focusing on her in an effort to blot the last vision of Mandy from his brain. He squeezed her fingers. “Wake up, Penny.”
She stirred, frowned, and murmured, “This is my fault. I—” Then her lids shot open, and she jerked her hand from his grasp.
“You’re okay. We’re at the hospital. You fainted and hit your head—”
“Oh, God. Oh, Mandy.” She pulled the sheet to her face.
A nurse appeared beside the bed. “My name is Cindy. You have a mild concussion, Ms. Sparks. Can I get you anything?”
Penny shook her head, still clutching the sheet to her cheeks. Cindy glanced at him, her face filled with sympathy. He remembered her from when he’d stood by numbly as the paramedics had briefed her and the doctor on what had happened. Only in the last twenty minutes had his head cleared enough to speak, give Detective Ranclin a statement, and hand over his keys so his truck could be brought to the hospital. Real clarity came when his concern for Penny kicked in.
She wiped her face on the sheet. “No. I want to leave.” With the effort to rise, her eyes grew hazy, and she collapsed back into the pillows.
He took her hand, but she recoiled from his touch. Confusion heated his face. “Penny?”
Cindy straightened the sheet across her. “We’d like you to rest for a little while longer. The doctor will be in soon, and I’m sure he’ll release you.” She directed a smile at both of them and left.
Penny clenched her hands into fists beneath her chin. Bloodless, petite fingers turned white and contrasted with black nail polish. She stared into space.
Fear clawed at his chest. Something was wrong. “I’m going to get the doctor.”
“No!”
He stood. “You look ill, Penny. Maybe they missed something.”
She closed her eyes. “You need to get away from me.”
“Why?” Something was definitely wrong. He took hold of each of her wrists, but she resisted and pulled her arms tight against her chest. “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
“You’ll end up dead, too,” her tiny voice answered.
His eyes teared. She’d lost so many loved ones…first her family, then Mandy. She cared enough about him to be afraid of losing him, too. “Oh, Penny, baby.” He leaned over the bed, slid his hands under her shoulders to bring her into his arms. “I’m not going to leave you.”
But she violently pushed him away. “No!” Her hands thumped the mattress on each side of her. “You don’t understand. They’ll find out.” Her face went rigid, dark brown eyes glassy, black. “They’ve made a mistake, and they’ll find out. Then they’ll come for me, and you could get in the way.”
Her crazy talk had him scared. “That’s it. I’m going for the doctor.”
“Jake. Stop.”
He ignored her. His heart raced and a throb behind his eyes came on with a vengeance. Nothing about tonight made sense. Why someone would do that to his sister was incomprehensible. And now Penny spouting as if she knew who had killed Mandy. She had to be delusional. Maybe the knock to her head still affected her thinking, or maybe she still suffered some sort of shock.
The door opened before he reached the handle.
“Good. Doctor Ryan, I think you should have a look at her again.”
“All right.” As he came beside the bed, the doctor asked, “Are you feeling worse, Ms. Sparks?”
She tipped her chin upward, clasped her hands in her lap, and her face relaxed. “No. I’m not.”
The doctor glanced at him, a puzzled frown across his forehead.
“She’s saying things that don’t make sense.”
“Jake, you’re misunderstanding me.” Her voice took on a soft tone, like making an explanation to a young child. “You were in shock.”
He was speechless. She stared into his eyes, and he had the feeling she wanted to communicate something she couldn’t speak out loud. Maybe he was overreacting to her overreacting. God knows, he wanted to climb into a hole and forget the last several hours.
She shifted her attention to the doctor. “We’ve both had a terrible trauma. We’re just having trouble dealing.”
“Look here.” The doctor shined a light into one of her eyes and then the other. “Please sit on the edge of the bed.” He watched her closely, then checked her pulse. “Stand. Can you state your name, address, and what day it is?”
Her voice was level, her answers succinct. She darted a glance at Jake.
“I’ve heard what happened, and I’m deeply sorry.” The doctor regarded him. “Her concussion was mild. Physically, she’s fine.” He turned kind eyes on Penny. “You’re fine to leave. If you experience any headaches or nausea, come back immediately. Both of you need to try and get some sleep.”
“Thank you, Doctor Ryan.”
When he’d left the room, Penny turned on him. “My head is fine, and I know what I’m talking about. Go back to Phoenix, Jake.”
Momentarily stunned, he couldn’t put words together to question her behavior when the door to the room opened and Officer Carlos Sanchez stepped in.
“You’re standing, Penny. That’s a good sign. Are you okay?”
“I’m better, Carlos. Thanks.”
He opened the pad in his hand. “Then I need to ask you a couple of questions.” When she frowned, he added, “Formality. Where were you last night?”
“At work. And you know where that is.”
“Did you leave at any time?”
“No.”
Closing the pad, he slipped it and the pen in a shirt pocket. “Thanks, we can verify that.” He drew two sets of keys from his pants pocket. “I couldn’t get your truck to start, Mr. Winters. Penny, since you left your keys in the car, I brought yours here instead. It’s parked right out front.”
He took the keys from the officer. “Thanks for doing that.”
“Of course.” Carlos glanced at Penny. “You’ll need to stay somewhere else tonight. The house will be off limits for a while, until forensics is finished. Could I get your cell number? Detective Ranclin will call when you can get back inside.”
She put a hand on the bed as if to steady herself. Jake started toward her, but she shot him a glare that held him in place. “He’ll have to call me at work. I don’t have a cell phone.”
“Detective Ranclin has my number, officer.”
“I’ll tell him.” The officer gazed back at Penny. “Is there anything more I can do for you?”
“No, but thank you.”
He stepped back to the door. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Winters.”
Jake nodded, but all he could concentrate on were Penny’s last words before the officer appeared. When they were alone again, he threw up his hands. “What do you mean, go back to Phoenix? Why the hell would I do that? My sister’s been murdered, and I want to find out why.”
She turned her back on him, went to the open door of the bathroom, and lifted her clothes from the hook. Beneath the thin hospital gown her spine was straight, her movements tight, as if coiled and ready to spring.
“Penny, I know how much she meant to you.” How much she meant to both of them. He wanted to hold her, share their loss. “I’m not leaving you.”
Untying the gown, she let it drop around her feet, and sidestepped out of the heap. She pulled the dark gray sweater over her head then stepped into black velvet jeans, refusing to make eye contact or speak as she sat on the green plastic chair.
This was killing him. The need to hold her, help her with her pain—his pain—rushed through him. Haltingly, he made his way to her, touched her head, and waited while she zipped her boots. “Penny.” She resisted, but he tipped her chin, forcing her to look up. “Come on, baby. You don’t have to worry about me leaving you.”
“You will.”
“No—”
“When I tell you the truth, you will.”
****
Penny hoped the drive would give her time to think. Jake kept glancing at her as he navigated the parking lot and onto the road, heading into downtown and the Grand View Hotel. He’d finally quit asking her to talk. Her hands shook as she’d signed out of the hospital. He’d insisted on driving and she let him, but wouldn’t explain. She couldn’t decide how much to tell him, and no matter how hard she tried, no plan formed.
I killed her.
Mandy was gone, and it was her fault. Jake should be sitting in this car with his sister, confused and sorrowful for Penny Sparks. They would be sad, but their sadness would heal and their life would go on.
She’d killed his sister, and his life would never be the same.
“Penny?”
The car had stopped. His gentle hand wiped tears from her face.
She recoiled, opened the door, and stepped into the cold air. His caring touch only served to increase her self-loathing. He’d hate her soon enough, too. A hate she deserved.
The Rendezvous had closed at midnight as always on a weeknight. She willed her leaden feet to walk through the lobby, Jake following her. Behind the front desk, Bobby jumped to his feet. He was relatively new, young, and nervous when his manager approached.
“Hi, Penny.”
“Bobby, I need two rooms. Did anyone check into 106 and 108?”
“I don’t think so, but I’ll double check.” He made a few keystrokes on the computer. “No, they’re available.”
“Okay. Let me have the keycards.” She leaned heavily on the counter, exhaustion making her wonder if she could stay upright long enough to get to the room. “I’ll worry about the paperwork tomorrow. Just log the rooms as booked for the rest of the week.”
“Sure, Penny.”
Ignoring the wrinkled forehead and questioning eyes of the clerk, she palmed the key for 106 and handed Jake the key for 108 as she turned toward the stairs. Even the half-flight of steps to the first floor rooms proved a monumental climb. He stood close at her side when she slid the card and opened the door to her room. His light touch on her shoulder propelled her forward.
“Penny—”
“All right, Jake, all right.” She pointed to the chair under the window, and waited for him to sit before collapsing onto the foot of the bed, facing him.
Telling him the truth would bare her soul and condemn her forever. She’d been silent long enough.
Her jaw went rigid with a thought…the bastard will pay—
“Penny?”
“My name is Jianna Ricci.”
“Wha—”
She put up a hand to silence him. “Thirteen years ago, I lived—”
“Wait.” He moved to the edge of the chair. “I don’t understand—”
“I’m trying to tell you what happened to Mandy.” Her head throbbed. Her mouth was dry, as were her tears. She felt dry to her core, lifeless like an autumn leaf. “Listen.”
At the mention of his sister, he wiped at watery eyes. He leaned elbows on his knees and nodded.
“We lived in Red Rock, Nevada. My father was the senior counsel and a senior vice president of Westingly Inc.” He didn’t show any recognition of the company. “They still exist, but no longer have a nuclear waste management division. At the time, Clyde Westingly was the CEO, and personally managed the Nuclear Synergy Systems division.”
“Clyde Westingly? The Arizona senator?”
She nodded. “My senior year in high school, I did a student internship for a few months in the accounting department under a woman named Angie Blanton.” Jake had relaxed back against the chair as she continued. “Angie and I became good friends in a short span of time, in spite of our age difference. I was good with numbers. I have a photographic memory, too, so when I noticed some discrepancies, I showed her. December, thirteen years ago.” The moisture had come back to her mouth and the words now flowed. “I figured someone just transposed some numbers or made an honest mistake. She saw it differently. Convinced that the CFO Jonathan Burke and Angie’s direct boss, Christine Severing, the Controller, were embezzling millions from the company, she decided to go straight to the top, directly to Clyde Westingly. She swore me to secrecy. That was on a Friday. She didn’t come to work on Monday.”
Penny rubbed the last of the headache from her temples. The sadness she’d always felt when remembering the sweet, feisty, middle-aged woman had no place in her recollections now. She embraced the numbness. “No one ever heard from her again. On Tuesday, I told my father what we’d found.” She stared, not seeing the present. Her father hadn’t been surprised or unbelieving. “Dad loved his job, and he respected the Westingly’s involved with the business. Except for Clyde Westingly. He’d never liked the CEO, which had more to do with the man’s moral integrity than his personality. While the company made arrangements to fill in for Angie until she could be located, I had an excuse to resign from the program. My father did his own investigation, but he didn’t trust Westingly like Angie had, and he promised me to secrecy. He found enough evidence that Clyde Westingly, no doubt with help from Burke and Severing, had bilked the government out of millions through contracts with his family’s company. He showed me what he’d found. Trusted the facts and figures to my memory.”
Jake frowned, but remained silent.
“My dad was so…smart. And honest. He could’ve turned a blind eye. We were very well off. Life was cushy and good. But with Angie’s disappearance, and the greed of Westingly, well, Dad decided to pursue the righteous path. He also knew the path could be dangerous and made a plan for the worst possible scenario. Drilled that plan into our heads. He made us swear, no matter what happened, we were to trust no one and follow his plan to the letter. Then he contacted the FBI. An agent was assigned to work with Dad. Two weeks later, my family was dead.”
His eyes widened in surprise then drooped in sympathy. He moved his foot as if he might stand and come to her. She put a palm out to halt him. The numbness remained. She didn’t need his sympathy.
“That’s when you came here. Changed your name?”
“I escaped by following his directions. And I haven’t veered even slightly…until…last week.” She stared at the floor, took a deep breath, and reached for the courage to push her forward.
“How does what happened to Mandy—?”
“They mistook Mandy for me. I used her computer to try and contact an aunt in Nevada.”
He sat straighter. “You, you—”
“Were stupid.” She brought her gaze to his face. “I get weak and stupid in December, every year. But this is the first time I did anything about it. I thought it had been long enough.”
“How can you be sure your actions caused Mandy’s death?” His even voice held no emotion.
Denial, a stage she knew all too well. She clasped the bed on each side of her, ready for the onslaught when she proved her point. He’d hate her. She hated herself.
“You said her mouth was taped. Were her hands and feet bound behind her?” The authorities had blamed her parents’ murders on their family ties to the Chicago syndicate. Her father had never hidden their relatives’ existence and, although the paper hadn’t published a detailed picture of the crime scene, she knew enough about the Mob to know how someone was dealt with. “Was she shot in the back of the head?”
His face went blank, but his fists had tightened on his thighs. “What are you saying?”
“I’m telling you, they murdered her, just like my parents—the same method—because they thought they were killing me.”
Gray eyes seemed to turn ashen and pierced her heart. She’d not gone totally numb.
Standing, his glare never left her face. “You?”
In the one word, all the guilt she felt magnified tenfold in his voice.
“Now will you go? Get away from me?” She dropped her chin to her chest, unable to face his silent accusation. “Go. Go far away.”
He drifted past in her peripheral vision. The door clicked shut.
Alone.
She was truly and forever alone.
****
His mother’s wail ripped his soul; now, his father’s sobs tore Jake’s gut apart. He let him cry without interruption, staring into the dark of the room with the phone jammed against his ear. When at last he could speak, his father asked, “Why? What did she have that was worth her life?”
Penny’s face filled his vision, and he squeezed his eyes shut, but she lingered behind his lids. “I don’t know, Dad.” He choked on the words.
“Come home, son.”
“I will, but not yet. I need to stay. Find out who did this and why.”
“Let the cops handle that. Your mother needs you.”
His chest twitched, then tingling thighs made him shift positions and fidget. “I know, Dad. I need you both, too.” Words came harder with a dry mouth, and he balled his free hand, wishing those fingers were curled around a drink. How easy it would be to run away. But if he did run, more than distance would be needed to forget. More than vodka. One drink, one line wouldn’t be enough. “I can’t leave until I know…and make some sense out of this.” Mandy was the fighter in the family. He had to find out for her and help the cops get the person who did this. She’d want that. “Take care of Mom. I’ll phone again as soon as I know more.”
The red call-ended icon glared. Depressing the home screen brought up the time. One fifty-three a.m. Falling back onto the pillow, the phone dropping from his hand to the bed, he shut his eyes to the darkness of the room.
Penny’s words, what he could remember of them, circled in his head. Someone meant to kill her, but had murdered his sister instead. She’d used her, and led the murderer to Mandy. The FBI? A senator? How could she have done this? He rubbed his face then pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes. The pixie of a girl had eluded death at the hands of the rich and powerful only to bring murder down on his little sister years later? She’d called herself stupid. A lame word for what she’d done.
He wanted to roll over, but his body was heavy and suddenly too exhausted to move. He mentally embraced the exhaustion, hopeful his physical state would still the beast begging to be satisfied.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Mom’s tortured reaction to his words rang in his ears, growing louder until it was as if she’d joined him in the room. Tears welled in his eyes. He cried quietly until drifting into sleep.