One Little Lie Page 26

  But what would he do about her being missing? The answer was a boom followed by a flash so intense it imprinted red on her eyeballs. Flames shot along the deck, and the crackle of burning wood made her wince. The thick smoke rolled toward the yacht, and she gagged at the stench.

  Reid’s beautiful boat was burning. Was he even still alive somewhere on shore? She had to cling to that hope.

  If she’d stayed, she would have been killed. Brian’s exultant expression in the light of the flames made her shudder. He thought he’d won. She couldn’t let that happen. She scanned the area in earnest for a weapon and found a speargun. Perfect. She checked to make sure it was ready to fire, then crept along the deck toward the wheelhouse.

  She heard a sliding, clicking sound to her right and whirled, speargun up, toward the sound. She gaped and blinked, unable to believe her eyes for a moment. Reid stood with Parker at his side. A warm tide of joy washed up her neck and heated her cheeks.

  Reid’s gaze locked with hers, and relief curved his lips. He held his forefinger to his mouth, then jabbed his thumb toward the wheelhouse. She nodded and sidled toward Brian, who sat in front of the wheel with his back to them. Reid dropped to his belly and crawled quickly toward Brian on the other side.

  She brought up the speargun and aimed it at Brian. “It’s all over, Brian. I wasn’t aboard Reid’s boat.”

  Brian jerked so violently he nearly toppled from the chair. He sprang to his feet and whirled to face her with his gun drawn.

  His gaze locked on the spear in her hand. “Drop it. I can shoot you before that spear hits me.”

  Which was true. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Reid rise from the ground and leap onto Brian. The two tussled for the gun as she ran forward. Parker barked and ran around them as if he wasn’t sure who to bite. Jane held the speargun in position, but with the men rolling around, there was no opportunity to stab Brian.

  She stepped past the men and grabbed the radio. “Coast Guard, mayday, mayday. Senator Fox’s yacht has been boarded, and we need help.” She read off the coordinates, then left the handset dangling as she backed away.

  The Coast Guard was answering her, but she couldn’t hear them above the grunts and blows being bandied between the two men. Brian was big and powerful, and he was slowly winning the battle for the gun. Jane brought up the speargun and was prepared to shoot her detective if he came up with it pointing at her or Reid.

  Brian rolled atop Reid and held the gun aloft. Jane’s finger twitched on the trigger, but it was hard to overcome her training and shoot a spear into his back. She glanced at her dog, who was still showing signs of distress. He didn’t know what to do.

  “Parker, gun!” He’d been trained to wrest a gun from an attacker’s hand.

  Parker’s whine turned to a growl, and he lunged for Brian’s wrist. He sank his teeth into the fleshy part of Brian’s hand.

  Brian screamed and tried to shake off the dog’s strong jaws, but Parker hung on, worrying Brian’s hand like a rat. The gun dropped to Reid’s chest, and he grabbed it, then rolled Brian off of him.

  He sprang to his feet with the gun in hand. Jane ran to Parker and grabbed his collar. “Release, boy. We’ve got this.”

  With a final growl the dog unclamped his teeth. Blood poured from Brian’s wound, and he cradled his right hand in his left. “He bit me.” He looked at Reid holding the gun, then at Jane with the spear in her hand. His shoulders sagged.

  Jane strode forward and slapped cuffs on him. “You’re under arrest for the kidnapping and attempted murder of Senator Fox. And I’m sure myriad other charges will follow.”

  Now to find Harry and Fanny. Her gaze went to Reid, who was staring at her with longing. She wasn’t aware of moving until she was in his arms.

  * * *

  Reid closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled the fragrance of Jane’s hair, something with vanilla and coconut. “I thought I’d lost you,” he murmured.

  “I was sure you were dead.” Her voice was choked. Her grip was tight around his waist.

  He brushed a kiss across her forehead, then dipped lower to capture her lips. They were soft and warm with promise.

  Brian made a sound of disgust, and Jane pulled away. Her eyes were luminous, and her full lips tipped into a smile. “I’d better get the senator out of the cabin.” She nodded toward lights headed their way. “Here comes the Coast Guard.”

  He didn’t want to let her go, but he forced himself to release her grip. “I’ll get the senator. You’re the law on the ship so you can talk to the cavalry.”

  He walked through the dark to the stairs that led to the berth and unlocked the door, then yanked it open. “Senator Fox, are you all right?”

  Looking pale and disheveled in the dim berth lighting, she appeared immediately. “Do you have my family?”

  “Not yet, but Boulter is in custody, and I’m sure Jane and the Coast Guard will get him to talk. I know the identity of the other conspirators as well. Daryl left, and Elizabeth might have as well.”

  Senator Fox came up the stairs. “Let’s go there now.”

  “In just a few minutes. Jane can transfer Boulter to the Coast Guard for safekeeping, and if we can find Elizabeth, she might lead us to Harry and Fanny.”

  “I’ve got a dinghy we could take now.”

  He understood her urgency. “It should only be a few minutes. Jane needs to tell the Coast Guard what’s happened.” He steered the senator to the side of the yacht where floodlights illuminated the deck. Jane was remanding Boulter into Coast Guard custody.

  “I have to find the senator’s family,” Jane said. “I’ll pick this guy up in a few hours, and we’ll explain everything. For now just know he kidnapped the senator with the intent to kill her and me.”

  Reid tuned out the discussion and looked out across the dark water toward the shore. He saw no glimmer of lights anywhere along the shoreline, but then the campsite was farther in from the water and sheltered by the trees. There was no way to get in there except by foot because of the terrain.

  Jane touched his arm, and he put his hand over hers as the motor of the Coast Guard boat intensified to a roar. “There’s a lot to tell you, Jane. You won’t believe the identity of Brian’s accomplices.” He moved to the wheelhouse and started the engine.

  The senator followed them and sank into the chair beside Jane. “I’m so frightened. He really meant to kill me. What if he’s killed Fanny? He said he hadn’t killed her yet, but I don’t trust him.”

  “I don’t think the woman who has them will harm them.” He told Jane and Senator Fox about Elizabeth and how Brian had coerced her into helping after discovering her vigilante attacks.

  Jane’s eyes widened when he told her about Brian and Daryl’s conspiracy to frame her dad. “So much hate.” She put her hand to her mouth. “I can’t believe Elizabeth would do something like this. And Brian.” She turned to the senator. “I heard him telling you this was all about revenge for his father. My dad tried to help those boys too.”

  “He was marked by tragedy at such a young age,” Senator Fox said. “When you let rage and anger grow, it consumes you.”

  “I wonder if Troy had any inkling Brian was so eaten up with thoughts of revenge.”

  Reid squinted through the dark and spied the old pier coming up. “You’ll have to ask him.” He docked the yacht and tied it up, then helped the women and Parker disembark. “The camp is this way.”

  He led the way through the dark forest and found the deer trail. The senator brought out her phone and handed it to him with the flashlight app on, which helped push back the shadows. Jane slipped her hand into his, and he squeezed her fingers and kept her close.

  He smelled the camp before he saw it—a mixture of fire and soup. “Senator, you should wait here. Let me see if Elizabeth is still here.”

  Jane put her hand on his arm. “You stay with the senator. I’ll check out the camp and see if Daryl or Elizabeth are still around.”

  Ever the capa
ble cop. He stayed at the tree line and watched as Jane, gun in hand, stepped into the clearing. Nothing stirred but the wind. The camp stove still sat in its place with the battered pot still on the burner. The campfire had burned out, and only a wisp of smoke curled from its ashes. The door to the cabin was shut.

  Jane walked across the clearing to the cabin and mounted the steps. She rapped on the door. “Elizabeth? Are you in there? It’s Jane.”

  Reid strained to make out the sounds coming from the cabin. Cries maybe? Jane tried the door, but it was locked. She stepped to the window and peered in, then turned toward Reid and the senator.

  “It’s Fanny and Harry. They’re tied up inside. I don’t see Elizabeth.”

  Reid and the senator ran to join her. “Harry!” Senator Fox called. “Harry, it’s Grammy. You’re safe.”

  Reid bounced up the rickety steps to the door. “Stand back.”

  He made a running start and crashed his shoulder into the flimsy door. The jamb splintered under the weight of his body, and he fell into the cabin and toppled to the floor.

  “Wait, Senator,” Jane called, but the senator didn’t stop. She raced past Reid.

  Reid blinked in the dark cabin and saw Harry and Fanny chained to an old iron bedstead that looped through the foot rail and ended in a padlock. He scrambled up and went to see how to free them.

  Senator Fox sat on the bed and scooped up her grandson in one arm and reached for her daughter with the other. “Get these chains off,” she told Reid.

  “Let me see if there’s a key around. If not, we’ll need a bolt cutter.” He looked around the nearly empty cabin and didn’t see a key.

  Jane reached toward a hook on the wall. “I think this is it.” She plucked a key loose and brought it to Reid.

  He inserted it into the padlock. “It fits!” The key clicked, and he disentangled the padlock from the chains.

  With Harry still in her arms, the senator helped Fanny wobble to her feet. “We’re going home.”

  Jane touched Reid’s arm. “Okay, Captain America, let me take a look at that shoulder.”

  But sore muscles were nothing compared to the joy he saw on those three faces. He put his arm around Jane and pulled her into his side. “Let’s enjoy the moment, just for now.”

  He knew she wouldn’t look at him with that same admiration for much longer.

  Thirty-Nine

  Had Brian ever been who she thought he was? Jane stood behind the one-way mirror with Reid beside her and watched Brian sitting at the interrogation table. Since she’d been one of his targets and he was a police officer, the state boys had taken over the case and would be here soon to interrogate him. Elizabeth and Daryl had been picked up as well and awaited their own interrogations in other rooms. Daryl was the one who had shot at them at Fort Morgan.

  The scandal would reverberate through the state.

  She glanced at Reid, who was prepping his video equipment. “This will be a crazy documentary for you.”

  He froze for a moment, then turned to look at her. “You want me to scrap the whole thing?”

  Did she? She examined her churning thoughts mixed with the shame of knowing she’d swallowed the lies Brian had told her. She shook her head. “It’s an important lesson about the masks people wear. I considered Brian a friend, and all the time he was seething with rage.” Her voice trembled, and she cleared her throat. “Is there anyone who doesn’t wear a mask? I’m beginning to think there isn’t.”

  She sensed him stiffen. “I didn’t mean you. But wow, all of this has really rocked me. Dad was right all along—someone was out to get him.”

  Reid watched Boulter in the other room. “I feel sorry for Brian’s brother. He was shaken by what Brian had done.”

  “I wish he’d told me Brian was angry—maybe talking it out would have helped.”

  “That level of rage and hatred usually isn’t something you can talk out. It takes God doing a work with forgiveness. We usually can’t do it by ourselves.”

  Maybe he was right. She sure hadn’t been able to get anywhere on her own feelings.

  Brian rose from the table and strolled to the glass. He pressed his face against it and gave a flat grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “I know you’re back there. You’ve won, Jane. That make you happy? Your family has taken everything from me.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” He couldn’t hear her, but the rage in his eyes was heartbreaking.

  “I might have missed out on justice at the moment, but it has a funny way of slapping you in the face when you least expect it. One of these days your dad will pay for what he did.”

  Reid’s camera was rolling. “He seems sure his dad was innocent. Do you know the case?”

  “Very well. A dash cam caught his dad in the act. There was no question of his guilt, just like there’s no question of Brian’s now.”

  Brian turned as the state detectives entered the room. He thought he was entitled to his hatred, and she didn’t see that ever changing.

  * * *

  Will’s jaw flexed, and he stared at Reid. “I want to tell her today. That’s the only birthday present I want.”

  Today was his boy’s fifteenth birthday and Jane’s thirtieth. With all that had happened, Reid hadn’t retrieved the new video game he’d bought from upstairs. And he hadn’t dared to buy Jane anything for fear of moving too fast. Besides, even if he had, the minute she heard who he was, she would throw it back at him.

  Reid poured the last mug of coffee and set it on the tray with the beignets before he answered. Will was the only one who’d gotten any sleep last night since he and Jane had arrived here only an hour ago. With his eyes burning from lack of rest, and fatigue slowing his movements, Reid didn’t feel up to the trouble that was surging toward him like a rudderless ship.

  The sun was up but just barely. He glanced out the window to where Jane sat on the dock at the Bon Secour River. The water glittered with color from the sunrise, and her hair had a pinkish tint. He’d tried to imagine her reaction, but no matter how he tried to spin it, he didn’t see this ending well in spite of the obvious feelings growing between them.

  For the millionth time he wished he’d announced who he was the minute he’d hit town, but he hadn’t known her well enough to trust her. He did now. He knew she was a good person with a heart big enough to embrace Will with a mother’s love without trying to take him from Reid.

  But he hadn’t been sure back then.

  He doubted the distinction would mean much to her.

  “Will, she’s had a rough night. So have I. I think it would be better to let us all get a little rest first.”

  Will’s shoulders slumped. “You think she will be mad, don’t you?”

  “You were,” Reid pointed out. “Of course she’s going to be mad at me. There’s no way around it.”

  “You didn’t tell her I was dead. Her dad did.” Will’s gaze went far away as he looked out the window. “When can I meet my grandpa?”

  “You want to meet him? After he—” Reid snapped his mouth shut.

  “After he left me and lied to her. Yeah, I know. But I have a grandfather. That’s pretty cool. Maybe he’ll take me fishing.”

  Reid’s chest squeezed. His boy had missed having extended family in so many ways that Reid hadn’t noticed. He’d tried to be there for Will, but it hadn’t been enough. Hard as this was going to be on all of them, he knew it had to be done.

  Just not this moment.

  The door opened, and Jane stepped inside with Parker. “Where’s our coffee and beignets? I’m starving.”

  Reid picked up the tray. “I was about to bring them out, birthday girl.” He tried to put a light note in his words and desperately prayed Will wouldn’t say anything. Not today.

  “Aw, thank you. The mosquitoes are feasting on me so let’s eat inside. There’s another storm brewing, too, and I felt a couple of drops of rain. I thought I might curl up on your sofa and take a nap.”

  Without waiting for a reply she
went past the breakfast bar into the open living room and dropped onto the sofa. Reid set the tray of food and drinks on the coffee table, and she reached for a beignet. Powdered sugar dusted her lap as she devoured the sweet treat in three bites.

  She gave a small moan of delight. “They’re still warm.”

  “I had them delivered so they’d still be hot. It’s not much of a birthday cake, but it was the best I could do for you and Will.”

  She smiled at his son. “That’s right—today is your birthday too. Happy birthday, Will. I bake a mean German chocolate cake. I’ll make one for us to share after I have a nap.” She slanted a grin at Reid. “I might let your dad have a piece, too, if he doesn’t wake me up too early.”

  If only they could stay in this cocoon of closeness. The minute she heard the truth it would all change.

  “Does your dad know what happened yet?”

  “I called him. He was shocked about Brian, hurt too, I think. He did a lot for those boys over the years.” She wiped her fingers and took a sip of coffee before she set it on the end table beside her. “I’m chilly. You have a throw somewhere?”

  “You bet. Lie back on the pillow and I’ll cover you.”

  “I’m so tired.” She curled up on the sofa with her head on a decorative pillow.

  Reid grabbed the throw on the opposite sofa arm and shook it out to cover her. Something fell from its folds, and he stopped dead. The pictures he’d given Will. The throw dropped from his hand, and he felt queasy at the thought of her seeing them.

  She’d surely recognize herself. And the boy he used to be.

  She scooped them up and glanced at them, the smile freezing on her face. She took in her long-ago self standing by the trees. “Where’d you get this?”

  All the explanations dried on Reid’s tongue, and he lost all coherent thought on how to make her understand.

  “You were investigating me?”

  “No, no, it’s nothing like that.”

  She sat up and threw off the blanket. “Then where did these pictures come from? I haven’t seen them in years.”