D for Dead, page 26
‘I know.’ Amy kicked at a pebble, rolling it down the bank and into the water. ‘He’s left me a couple of voicemails.’
‘And?’
‘And I think I’ve had enough sessions. What’s done is done. I don’t want to rehash it anymore.’
Jake had expected this reaction.
‘It’s standard stuff, Amy. He’s trying to help you come to terms with the memories you’ve uncovered.’
‘I am coming to terms with them: in my own way.’
‘Are you? Because it seems to me you’re still reeling from what happened.’
Amy stopped walking, turned on him angrily. ‘What are you now a therapist too?’
It was good to see some fire back in her eyes.
‘Just someone trying to help,’ Jake told her calmly.
‘I don’t need your help and I don’t need any more help from Doctor Shinnick. Yes, I’m reeling from what happened. I’m also reeling knowing some sick psycho is out there using my books as an excuse to kill people I know. But I’ll deal with it in my own way.’
‘If it doesn’t break you first,’ Jake muttered, taking a quick step back when Amy looked like she was going to take a swipe at him.
‘Stick to the detective stuff, okay?’ she snapped. ‘And keep the psychoanalytical bullshit to yourself – unless of course you’re prepared to share. You want to know all my secrets, but I notice you’re not so willing to tell me your own.’
Jake’s temper prickled. ‘I don’t have secrets. I have a past that has nothing to do with this case. Yours does.’
‘But I never asked for it. I never asked for any of this. You want me to trust you, you want me to put my faith in you, believe you will keep me safe and catch this asshole. Why should I?’
‘Don’t make this personal. I’m just doing my job, Amy.’
‘Are you?’ She held his gaze for a moment and he saw the frustration and disappointment in her eyes. ‘Are you really just doing your job?’
When he didn’t answer, she shook her head, stormed past him back in the direction of her apartment building.
‘Amy!’
‘I’m going back. You’ve got Huckleberry.’
‘Amy! Dammit. Come back here.’
Irritated when she ignored him, Jake whistled to the dog. Huckleberry came to him obediently and stood patiently while he clipped on his leash, before hurrying after her.
They walked back up to her apartment in silence.
Back inside, Amy stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door hard enough for Jake to know she was pissed. He went to the kitchen, made a fresh pot of coffee, deciding to let her simmer.
It was his own damn fault; he should never have told her he’d seen Shinnick professionally. Now she knew, she was never going to let it drop. As far as he was concerned, the past was the past and he intended for his to stay there.
Amy hasn’t had that luxury. Hers has come back to haunt her.
And she would deal with it. Get past it. Telling her about his own problems and why he had seen Shinnick weren’t going to help her.
But she wants to trust you. Let her in.
Annoyed, he took his coffee to the couch and grabbed the TV remote. He was channel hopping when Amy emerged some twenty minutes later. She still looked sulky, but the initial hot wave of anger had evaporated.
‘I’m hungry. Do you want something to eat?’
‘Sure.’
He watched her as she searched the contents of the refrigerator. ‘I have some leftover chilli I can heat up. That okay?’
‘Sure,’ he repeated.
She warmed up the food and they ate in silence, Amy accompanying her chilli with a large glass of wine. Jake watched her drain it empty, refill the glass again, and bit his tongue to resist pointing out that alcohol was not the way forward. Amy wasn’t in the mood for any more of his advice. He sighed in frustration, realising he was going to have to open up if he wanted to get her back into Shinnick’s office.
‘Why do you want to know about my past so badly?’ he asked. She looked up, surprised by the question.
‘I told you. You know everything about me. I want to know something about you.’
‘You already know stuff about me,’ he pointed out lightly. ‘You know I have a dog called Roxy. You know I come from Arden, Georgia, that I have two sisters and a brother. What else do you want to know? I’m a big Falcons fan? I have a thing for Mexican food? I almost quit the force a few years back to buy a horse ranch?’
‘Really, you nearly quit?’
‘I thought about it for a while. I love horses; used to work with them back on my parents farm.’
‘Is that why you saw Shinnick, because you nearly quit?’
Damn it Amy. You won’t let it drop.
He sat back in his seat and studied her.
‘Okay, I will tell you why I saw Shinnick, but if I do I want you to promise me you’ll go back and finish your sessions. Deal?’
She was silent, and he could see the conflict as she wavered between wanting to know about his past and not wanting to go back to the doctor. Eventually she caved.
‘Okay, deal.’
Jake drew in a breath. He would tell her what had happened, but only hoped he wouldn’t live to regret it.
Rebecca sat in the passenger seat of Hickok’s car, the giant pizza box on her lap and the aroma of melted cheese and pepperoni attacking her nostrils.
He had insisted on stopping for a takeaway and then made her hold the damn thing, and she knew it was all part of a ploy to get inside her front door. The pizza was huge. No way was he planning to eat the whole thing himself. No, he knew Alan was out of town again and was banking on inviting himself in for dinner.
She told herself when the time came she would summon up the willpower to send him on his way. His dirty little pizza trick wasn’t going to work.
And neither were his continual digs about Alan and insinuations that he might be cheating on her, which he had stepped up now he had her trapped in his car. Alan wouldn’t cheat on her. He wasn’t the type. Was he?
‘Has your mom met him yet? I’ll bet your mom loves him, doesn’t she?’
‘Yes and yes.’ Rebecca rolled her eyes.
‘Guess he ticks all of the boxes for her: safe, stable, inoffensive; able to cater to all her picnicking needs.’
‘You’re not funny.’
‘I’ll bet she’s already planning your big day. Alan will probably want a picnic theme –sandwiches and blankets in the backyard. You can have your own monogrammed plastic forks and spoons.’
‘Sure, whatever you say, Hickok.’
‘Alan and Rebecca. No, it would be Alan and Becky, wouldn’t it? That’s what he likes to call you, right?’
Don’t bite.
‘In fact, Becky and Alan would work better, cos you’re the one wearing the balls in your relationship.’
Rebecca scowled at him, her temper simmering. ‘You don’t even know him. You have no idea what kind of man he is.’
‘One you have wrapped around your finger. Or so you think.’
‘What?’
Hickok grinned at her, nodding.
‘I heard your conversation earlier, chewing the guy out because you forgot to collect his delivery, making it out to be his fault.’
‘I did not.’
‘Sure you did, Angell. I’ll bet he’s constantly walking on eggshells around you, trying to keep you happy. No wonder he’s probably straying.’
‘Too far, Hickok. You’ve gone too far.’
‘Well why else would he keep disappearing at the weekend? If he spends it with you he has to leave his balls at the front door.’
‘Stop the car.’
They were only a couple of blocks from her townhouse. She would walk it.
‘Stop the car, Hickok,’ she repeated when he failed to slow. ‘Do it now before I punch you in the face.’
He grinned at her threat.
‘And to think I was gonna share my pizza with you.’
‘You are not coming in my house.’
‘Why not? You haven’t got any other plans.’
‘I don’t need to have other plans. You’re not setting foot inside my house.’
‘Come on, Angell. I have pizza. I know you’re a cheap date.’
‘You’ll have pizza on your face if you don’t shut up.’
Deciding to ignore him, she glanced out of the window, furious with Hickok, but more so with herself for biting.
Every time, Rebecca. He gets you every time.
And the stuff he said about Alan, about how she had him wrapped around her finger and he had to leave his balls at the front door. It wasn’t true.
Was it?
She thought back to their earlier conversation. Had she turned the tables on him, making him out to be the bad guy? And was he seeing someone else behind her back? He’d said he was meeting with someone, but it had all been rather sudden that he had to go away this weekend. Maybe he was hooking up with another woman behind her back. Perhaps that was why he wanted to talk to her, to call time on things because he had met someone else.
She quashed the concerns as Hickok pulled up outside her house.
The porch light was on. That was odd. She was certain she’d turned it off before she’d left that morning. She must have forgotten.
Without a word she dumped the pizza box on Hickok’s lap, grabbed her purse and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her.
Before she had even stepped off the sidewalk, she heard his door open and close and his footsteps close behind as she walked up the steps.
‘I said no, Hickok.’
He held the pizza box under one arm and the grin on his face was full of pure cocky confidence. Why would he never take her seriously? Why did he think she would always give in?
‘Come on, Angell. I got your favourite toppings.’
‘You are not gonna win me over with pizza this time.’
He nodded, set the box down.
‘Okay, well how about this?’
Without warning he cupped his hand behind her head, pulled her to him and kissed her hard. Momentarily shocked, Rebecca tried to push him away, but then she yielded, her body reacting to his automatically. He deepened the kiss, pulling her close as his hands slid down her back to grab her ass. Rebecca moaned as everything melted inside her.
What the hell are you doing? You have a boyfriend.
Coming to her senses, she shoved him hard.
Hickok let go of her, took a step back, and smiled smugly.
‘What the hell was that?’ Rebecca demanded.
‘That? That was hot.’
When the smile widened to a grin, she slapped him hard across the face.
Jesus, Rebecca. What were you thinking?
What about Alan? How could she do this to him?
Alan doesn’t kiss like that. Alan has never kissed you like that. Fuck it.
Giving in to the urge she grabbed hold of Hickok, pulled him close again, slamming her mouth against his, need immediately building.
As they groped like a couple of horny teenagers on her doorstep, she reached for her keys, fishing them out of her purse and dropping it to the floor. While Hickok nibbled at her ear, she fumbled with the lock, finally getting the door open, and they stumbled inside.
Rebecca managed to hook her purse with her foot, pull it into the hall before the door slammed shut and Hickok had her pressed hard against it. Preoccupied, she failed to notice the mail from the mat had been stacked neatly on the hall table.
Greedily she reached down, ripping the buttons off his shirt, feeling the familiar warm flesh against her palms.
‘Upstairs.’
‘No, the living room.’ She felt his lips curve against hers. ‘Let’s do it on the couch for old time’s sake.’
Rebecca was already tugging at his belt as they made their way into the dark room.
‘Hurry up and get your pants off,’ she demanded as he slipped his hands under her blouse, worked the straps of her bra.
Light spilled onto the room and she drew her head up from Hickok’s neck.
What the hell?
She stopped sharp, taking in the shocked faces watching the two of them.
Alan; her sisters, Wendy and Jess; Wendy’s husband, Keith; her mom and dad; Alan’s mom.
Why were they all here? What was going on?
A little dazed she pulled back from Hickok, turned to her family. ‘What the fuck? What are you all doing here?’
Her mother’s face was a picture, while the expressions of those around her were either stony or shocked. Only Jess appeared to find the situation amusing.
The silence seemed to drag on forever, before eventually Sarah Angell found her voice.
‘I think the more appropriate question is, what are you doing, Rebecca?’ She scowled at her daughter, threw a filthy look at Hickok, her gaze dropping to Rebecca’s blouse, hanging undone, her bra on show.
Self-consciously Rebecca covered herself up. She glanced at Alan who had so far remained quiet. The expression on his face was one of humiliation. He had something clenched in his fist, she noted.
‘Alan.’ Lost for words she took a step towards him, flinched when his hand came up and he threw a tiny box at her. As it dropped to the floor he pushed past her, storming out of the
room. His mom followed, giving Rebecca a scathing look. Rebecca glanced at the box on the floor: a ring box.
Oh dear God. He was going to propose. Shit.
She glanced briefly at Hickok, who for once had the decency to look contrite as he discreetly did up his fly.
Her dad and Wendy were shaking their heads, Jess sniggering behind her hand, while Keith looked on embarrassed. Sarah Angell stepped forward; her disappointment clear.
‘Mom?’
‘Save it, Rebecca. Hurry up and get your pants off? Is this how I raised you? What kind of lady are you?’ She turned to Hickok. ‘And you, stay away from my daughter.’
Without another word she stormed from the room.
Rebecca started to go after her. This was on the same level as the couch incident. No, scrub that. This was worse, much worse.
‘Mom!’
A hand grabbed her shoulder.
‘Leave it a while. Let her blow off steam.’
Rebecca turned to her older sister.
‘I can’t believe you’re all here, Jess. Oh my God, how did I not see this coming?’
‘It was Alan and Mom. They’ve been in cahoots for weeks. Alan even stole your ring so he could get it measured.’ Jessica Angell grinned, seeming to find the whole situation highly amusing. ‘I told them this was a bad idea.’ She turned to Hickok, gave him a sly smile. ‘So I’m guessing you’re the FBI guy, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.’
‘Jess!’ Rebecca felt her cheeks flame. Discretion had never been her sister’s strongest quality.
She glanced at Wendy, her middle sister, who was eyeing Hickok with disapproval. She was the good daughter of the family, and the shining example her sisters were supposed to follow. If Sarah Angell had her way, all three of her daughters would be married baby machines, living down the road from each other in Swallow Falls.
‘Well, I hope you’re happy with what you’ve done,’ Wendy snapped.
Hickok turned to Rebecca, ignoring the remark. He looked somewhere between amused and embarrassed.
‘You know what, Angell. Maybe I should just go. Let you catch up with your family.’
‘Catch up with them?’ Rebecca shook her head flustered. He was right, though. It was better if he left. ‘Yes. Just go, Hickok. I’ll see you in the morning.’
As he left the room, she looked over to her father who’d remained quiet through the whole episode. His lips were pulled in a tight line, his jaw twitching, a sign Rebecca knew meant he was irritated. Unlike her mom, he tended to shy away from drama, preferring a quiet life. The way he was looking at her made Rebecca feel as though she was sixteen again.
‘Um, Dad, I’m sorry I…’
‘I don’t want to hear it, Rebecca. Alan is the one you should be apologising to. You should go find him. I’ll get your mother to give you a call tomorrow when she has cooled down.’
He paused by her, as he started to walk out of the room, touched her arm and started to say something, before changing his mind. Instead he just shook his head and left. Wendy was hot on his heels with Keith trotting after her. She always had been the goody two shoes and deep down probably loved that this would earn her extra brownie points with their parents.
Jess caught Rebecca’s hand, squeezed it. ‘It’ll blow over. Give it a few days. I told Mom this was a really stupid idea.’
That was her older sister, so laid-back and optimistic. Rebecca just hoped she was right.
He whistled cheerfully as he made his way to the storage unit. Everything was going to plan; the pieces all falling into place. Once inside, and certain he hadn’t been seen, he hit the light and closed the door, before popping the lid on the trunk.
He went about feeding the man inside. It was McDonalds again; a little repetitive and not good for a regular diet, but in this case it was of no consequence. Fast food burgers wouldn’t be the death of him.
The man ate and drank greedily. The first time he had struggled, trying to escape. Now he realised it was futile and, as his strength waned and his body cramped in the small trunk, he was reliant upon the one meal a day, knowing he needed it to keep him alive.
Not that being alive was a mercy. The trunk was beginning to stink, filled with the pungent odours of sweat, urine and faeces. With the warm June weather it must be hell being locked up all day in such a confined space, but he couldn’t risk taking the man outside to go to the bathroom. Besides, it wouldn’t be for much longer. Soon it would be time to move this player into position. The years of careful planning all came down to this.
The game was about to move to a new level.
35
‘I killed someone.’
Amy wasn’t expecting that. She took a large sip of wine, studied Sullivan’s face, expecting him to smirk, tell her he was kidding, but he didn’t.
‘Okay, but you’re a cop. You killed a bad guy, right?’ When he didn’t answer, she reached out, grabbed hold of his hand. ‘What happened?’
