Dead Ringer (38 page)

Terrified, Kendall kept her head bowed low over the baby.

"Okay. Okay." Zack didn't budge. He kept his gun pointed at Todd.

Jacob also kept his gun pointed at Todd.

Agitated, Todd jerked back Kendall's head. For just a brief instant
Jacob's gaze locked with hers. There was fire in her eyes.

"Put your gun down, Detective, or I'll kill her!"

The baby's cries cut though the night. The air was bitter cold and the
snowflakes were heavily falling.

In that moment, Kendall racked her heeled boot down his shin.

Todd winced and for just a split second was distracted. That was all
Jacob needed. He fired. The bullet hit Todd in the head.

Blood splattered on Kendall's face. For a moment, Todd stood frozen, his
eyes wide, the hole in his forehead oozing blood. Then he teetered back and
fell into the snow. Kendall, the baby still in her arms, collapsed to her
knees.

Jacob moved quickly toward Todd, his gun pointed at him. Zack followed.
Their gazes were not on Kendall but Todd. Both were ready to fire again if need
be.

Only when Jacob was certain that the man was dead did he spare a glance
at Kendall. He holstered his weapon.

Dropping to his knees, he pulled Kendall into his arms. The baby
squirmed and wailed between them.

"Is he dead?" Kendall said.

"Yes."

The baby's cries quieted.

Jacob stroked Kendall's hair, now coated with snow and blood. "I was
afraid I wouldn't find you."

"Me too."
She savored his warmth. Only now did she
realize just how cold she was. She started to tremble.

He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. His
scent clung to the worn leather and calmed her nerves.

"How is Nicole?"

"Ayden is with her." She glanced down at the baby, who had calmed. "I
want to see her."

"Sure."

When they returned to the house the ambulance had arrived. The flashing
blue lights of the cop cars and the red lights of the rescue squad lighted up
the night.

Nicole had been loaded onto a gurney and was being wheeled to the
ambulance. A grim-faced Ayden was at her side. Kendall hurried over and glanced
down at Nicole's pale face.

"Nicole."

Her eyes opened slowly.
"The baby?"

Kendall lowered the child so Nicole could see her daughter. "She's here.
She's fine."

Nicole started to cry. "Thank you."

The rescue squad worker glanced at Kendall. "We need to get her to the
hospital right away."

Kendall moved back so they could load Nicole into the ambulance bay. She
handed the baby to the attendant. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's hemorrhaging." He got into the back of the cab and Ayden shut the
doors. The rescue squad raced off into the night.

Jacob wrapped his arm around Kendall's shoulders and she turned her face
into his chest and started to weep.

Saturday, April 12, noon

The April morning was warm and the sky a vivid azure. The small stone church
was filled with people as Nicole stood by the christening font holding her
three-month-old daughter, whom she'd named Elizabeth. Jacob, wearing a dark
suit, sat in the front row. On his left sat Zack and Lindsay. She was in her
second trimester and her stomach delicately rounded. To Zack's left sat David
Ayden and his two boys. The boys looked uncomfortable in their new suits and
squirmed when their father wasn't looking.

Kendall stood at the front of the church next to Nicole. Kendall wore a
silk blue wrap dress and had pulled her hair into some kind of twist. Her high
heels accentuated long legs that always took Jacob's breath away when he
watched her walk.

"And who offers this child for baptism?" the priest asked.

"I do," Nicole said proudly. She looked radiant. Her cream-colored dress
accentuated her slim figure. Dark hair skimmed her shoulders.

Nicole handed the baby to the priest and watched as he settled the baby
into the crook of his arm. He moved to the stone font and scooped a handful of
water and gently trickled it over Elizabeth's small head.

"Elizabeth Kendall Piper, I baptize you in the name of the father and
the son and the holy ghost." The priest turned to Kendall. "Who stands up for
this child?"

Kendall smiled proudly. "I do."

After the baptism was complete, Kendall took her place back on the pew
beside Jacob. She smiled up at him. He took her hand in his and squeezed
gently. He loved her scent. Loved touching her. And already, he ached to be
alone with her.

The last few months had been filled with so much change. The first days
after Elizabeth's birth, Nicole had been in serious condition. She'd lost a lot
of blood during the delivery and it had taken an emergency hysterectomy to save
her life. When she'd finally been able to sit up and nurse her baby girl, all
her fears about loving the child had vanished. She'd banished all thoughts of
relinquishing the baby.

Two weeks after the baby's harrowing birth, Kendall had driven mother
and daughter home from the hospital. The first weeks after Elizabeth came home
had been rocky. Neither Kendall nor Nicole had gotten much sleep, but by late
February the three had settled into a routine. By mid-March, Nicole, with
Elizabeth in a front pack baby carrier, had returned to her studio.

Kendall had requested a leave of absence from the station to care for
Nicole and recover from her own trauma. Brett had insisted she stay on the job.
She'd quit. She'd put her house up for sale and was looking for another job.

The service ended and the congregation stood. Jacob pressed his hand
into the small of Kendall's back and guided her out of the church. Bright
sunshine shone down on them.

David stood by Nicole as his boys made goofy faces at Elizabeth. The
baby seemed to thoroughly enjoy the attention.

Kendall leaned close to Jacob. "Do you think Ayden is ever going to ask
Nicole out on a real date?"

Jacob grinned. "He wants to, but he's waiting for the right time. She
was so sick and weak at first and then she was so worried about getting back to
work."

She turned her gaze to Jacob. "Tell him that life has settled down and
he should get a move on."

Jacob shook his head. "I'm not getting in on that."

"On what?"
The question came from Lindsay. Zack's arm
casually draped over her arm.

"Ayden and Nicole."

Zack rolled his eyes. "I'm not a part of this."

Lindsay laughed. "If you don't prod the man along
I
will."

Zack chuckled. "He'll get around to asking her out."

Kendall stared at Ayden. The man had been a rock during the weeks
following Todd's death.

Ayden and Jacob had worked with Detective Houseman and Cole Markham to
piece together Todd's troubled and dangerous past. What they'd learned was that
Todd had never gotten over his parents' divorce. He'd resented and envied the
life his father had built with his new wife. During his brief visits to the
Turner house, Todd had developed an unhealthy obsession with his half sisters.
Police now believe he'd assaulted the oldest two. When his stepmother caught
him with Ruth and Judith, she'd gone into a rage. Todd had left but had
returned two days later, on Saturday morning. That's when he'd stabbed the
Turners, injured Vicky, and tried to get to Kendall and Adrianna, who were
locked in the closet, where Mrs. Turner had hidden them. If not for the
neighbor's intervention, Todd likely would have killed the whole family that
day.

Alaska troopers believed that Todd had fled to Alaska, where he lived
for twenty-five years. That's where Todd had started killing prostitutes. He'd
chosen sisters to murder because he was continuing with his obsession with his
own sisters. In Denver, he'd killed Diane and her sister, Courtney, before
heading east.

It was Adrianna's father's files that had supplied the last few pieces
of the puzzle. Social workers discovered Delia Turner had had a brother who had
been awarded the girls. He'd wrongly believed that the girls should be
separated and their names changed to protect them. The five little girls had
needed each other, but the uncle and social worker had decided differently.

In Virginia, Todd had tracked down the uncle and through him the
adoption agency that had placed the sisters. He had broken into the agency and
stolen the girls' records. He'd set fire to the agency to cover up the theft.

The day Jackie had been murdered marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of
the Turners' killings.

Kendall had had lunch with Adrianna a couple of times. Adrianna was
still reeling from what she'd learned. They were both taking their reunion
slowly, understanding that family bonds could only be built over time.

And as she'd gotten to know Adrianna she'd started to remember her older
sisters. The memories were just flashes: laughing by a swing set, eating ice
cream cones in the cool grass, and holding hands as they danced in circles. The
memories weren't much, but they gave her a sense of peace and of feeling
connected.

Jacob looped his fingers with Kendall's. He leaned over so that his lips
brushed her ear. He spoke in a low voice that only she could hear. "I love
you."

The words came hard for him. He'd spent his life closed and afraid to
love but he'd found the courage to love Kendall.

Kendall smiled warmly and met his gaze. "I love you too."

He traced his calloused thumb over the palm of her hand. "Marry me."

That surprised her. They'd not spoken of marriage at all. She lifted an
eyebrow. "Did I hear you correctly?"

"Marry me."

She could be just as cautious as he was. "Are you sure about this?
You're not just overwhelmed by the emotion of the day? Because it's
understandable that you would be thinking about the future...."

Jacob kissed her, stopping her midsentence. "I love you. I want us to
get married."

Kendall stared into his eyes. Her gaze reflected so much love, hope, and
vulnerability that it made his knees weak. "Yes. I'll marry you."