For the first time since he’d seen the picture of Sara and Andy together, he shoved his rage to the background and thought rationally. The truth was, he’d felt betrayed. That’s what had fueled his tirade on the phone, his reason for lashing out. Yet his insides still told him to look deeper, to look elsewhere. Something was still missing. Like a real motive. If the woman was so dead set on finding her kid, why did she take the time to go out with Andy?
For a reprieve from the stress, stupid
. There were always explanations. Whether you wanted to hear them or not.
So what was his problem? All he had to do was walk into the police station, hand over the folder, and he’d be done with it.
Except he couldn’t.
His stomach churned—the image of her in handcuffs turning the taste in his mouth sour. He’d learned long ago to trust his instincts and right now his gut said to back off. To give Sara the benefit of the doubt, to give her a chance.
To give
them
a chance.
Because that’s what he really wanted. To have her in his life. Her and her daughter. Forever. He let the cold fact he was in love with Sara settle over him, seep into every pore. The realization left him feeling warm and gooey, kinda like the crusty marshmallow she’d called him. Yes. Now
this
felt right!
Pulling back into traffic, he had a new resolve. But he needed Reece’s help.
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Reece asked when Morgan, empty handed, dropped into the visitors chair next to the detective’s desk. “Thought you said you were bringing some pertinent evidence in the Adams case. So where is it?”
“I screwed up.” Now
tha
t was an understatement. In more ways than one.
“Anything I’d care to hear about?” Reece popped an antacid in his mouth.
“Probably.” No doubt he’d regret his decision, but he couldn’t help it. Sara had come to mean more to him than he’d intended, than he’d wanted. He’d had a taste of her and couldn’t go back to the life he’d lived before. It didn’t matter that the evidence incriminated her in her husband’s and Andy’s deaths. She didn’t do it. His gut had never steered him wrong before, and discounting the fact he’d turned into a complete dickhead, he still trusted his instincts.
“I don’t think Mrs. Adams was involved in her husband’s death.”
“Me, either. The kid in the grave isn’t hers, but it is her husband’s.”
Morgan jerked his head. His chest squeezed tight as he sucked air into his lungs. “You sure?”
“DNA don’t lie.”
Morgan assimilated the news. “If the baby isn’t hers, but
is
his, then there’s another suspect out there. And I know who it is.”
“Damn it, Morgan. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Hey, give me a break. I just found out myself Adams had a mistress.”
“No shit.”
Morgan threw him a dirty look. “Adams even bought her a house. Her name is Melissa Long.”
“How’d you find out?”
“Sara—Mrs. Adams—found the deed at home this morning and told me.”
“So is that why you didn’t bring me the evidence you called me about?” Cannon gave him an assessing gaze. “What’s going on between you two?”
Morgan glared at his friend. Then a thought crossed his mind and he jerked upright. “Damn it. She said she was going to talk to the woman and—”
“Cannon,” an officer called out as he crossed the room to his desk. “I got some info pertaining to one of your cases.”
“What?”
“We brought in a perp on a break and enter earlier today. This is his second strike, and he offered to make a deal. Eventually he confessed to being involved with illegal activities at The Adams Company.”
Reece and Morgan exchanged quick glances. He sat on the edge of the straight-backed chair waiting for the young officer to continue.
Before he had time to say anything else, Reece snatched the folder from him, then flipped it open. “Damn,” he said after a minute. “You got him in holding?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Keep him there and don’t let anyone talk to him.” He turned back to Morgan while the man moved away. “Falsified medical claims have been going through the company, raking in millions in illegal funds. Except Adams wasn’t involved.”
A cold sensation settled in the pit of Morgan’s stomach. “Who?”
“The company doc, several well placed employees, and get this, Leonard Martin, the current CEO.”
Morgan cursed himself for being so blind. Why hadn’t he seen this coming? All the pieces had been there practically staring him in the face. Instead of trusting Sara, he’d believed the doctor. After Morgan’s accusations, would she ever forgive him?
“Yeah. We been looking in the wrong direction. The good doctor was ultimately responsible for killing Adams and Ford.”
Morgan shifted gears to absorb the information in relation to Andy. He shook his head, muttering to himself. “I couldn’t have saved his life. Whether I’d been there that night or not.”
“No,” Reece responded. “Only if he’d already been at a hospital, and they knew what was really going on could they have saved him. I’ve told you before, it wasn’t your fault. If you’d been there, you couldn’t have done anything except watch him die.”
Morgan appreciated his friend’s candor. Finally able to let go of his guilt, he remembered what he was going to say before they’d been interrupted. “Sara—”
“Is off the hook, I’d say, unless she was in cahoots with Martin.”
“No. She was going to go look up the mistress. Do we know when the falsified claims begin?”
Reece checked the folder. “The snitch was pretty thorough. Guess he wanted a deal real bad. Looks like it was two or three years. Why?”
It all fell into place with a loud sickening thud. “Because according to Sara, Jason’s affair started about two years ago.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Martin and the mistress are connected. And Sara’s on her way to confront the woman.”
“Thompson!” Cannon yelled at the officer. “Have you rounded up all those people yet?”
“We got all except for the doc and Martin.”
Morgan was already on his feet. “Reece, you’ve got to locate those two men. I’m headed to the mistress’s house to find Sara.”
“Hey! Who’s giving the orders here?” But Reece was talking to a retreating back.
As Morgan climbed into the Navigator, he tried to recall the exact address off the deed. He couldn’t. The neighborhood was familiar, though. He speed-dialed Charlene. “Get me the address for a Melissa Long. The house will be in hers and Jason Adams’ name.” He rattled off the street name as he impatiently waited on traffic.
He had a bad feeling about this. A
real
bad feeling. His gut twisted into knots. This time, he’d pay attention.
Knuckles white, he clenched the steering wheel, praying he wasn’t too late.
****
Leo had Sara before she’d taken two steps, his hand a vice grip on her arm.
“What’s your hurry, sweetheart?”
Sara struggled to get out of his grasp. The self-defense moves Cat had taught her came to mind, but quickly evaporated the second he pointed a gun at her. He pulled her into the foyer as he firmly closed the door.
“There. Now we won’t have any more unwelcome visitors,” he snarled.
She should’ve been concerned about the gun in his hand, should’ve been more concerned about how she was going to get out of this mess. Instead, the other woman’s words clung to her. She looked at Leo in bewilderment.
“You killed Jason? You destroyed our lives? For what? What did he ever do to you that you had to kill him?” Sara would have cried if she hadn’t been so terrified. His grip dug into her arm.
Leo sneered. “Come on, Sara. Surely you aren’t that naïve. I’d believe it from her,” he said as he nodded toward the living room, “but not you. I wanted his power, of course.” He spoke calmly yet his eyes were hard, heartless. He shoved her into the main room where the other woman glared at her.
Moving boxes were stacked haphazardly throughout the area. Some open, some already sealed. A few pictures and knickknacks still remained on the walls and shelves but, except for the furniture, the room was mostly barren. Bubble wrap and paper were scattered across the floor. Another day or two and the woman would’ve been gone. Sara felt vindicated in the urgent feeling she’d had lately. This would be her only chance to talk to the woman who’d stolen her husband. Although, from his expression and behavior, Leo had other plans for her. A chill ran down Sara’s back. What had she walked in on? And would there be a way out?
For the first time, she got a good look at her husband’s mistress. A dark bruise had already formed on the woman’s cheek. Her shape was so disproportionate, she reminded Sara of a black-haired Barbie Doll with a bad dye job as her breasts threatened to spill out of her low cut, clingy top. With heavy makeup and an over-teased hair-do, she looked like a cheap whore. Was that what Jason had been attracted to? A wave of nausea hit her.
The woman looked Sara up and down in utter distain, then snorted. “I saw you. You aren’t any better looking up close.”
“Saw me where?” Sara was puzzled.
“At the funeral, stupid.” She rolled her eyes as if Sara were mentally lacking.
“You were there?”
“Course I was there. I stayed back, but no way was I missing his funeral. It shoulda been me standing there next to the coffin, not you.” Contempt gleamed in her eyes.
A baby continued wailing down the hall. The crying touched Sara’s soul, renewed the longing for her own child.
“Shut that brat up,” Leo spat.
The woman threw another scathing glare toward Sara, then scurried away. A few minutes later she reemerged, carrying a baby with a blanket thrown over its head.
“Why’d you bring it in here?” he demanded.
“You want her quiet, well that’s what I’m doing.” She squinted at Leo, almost daring him to hit her while she held a baby.
Leo shoved Sara away from him so suddenly she stumbled and almost fell into the other woman.
Melissa sidestepped her and turned, pressing the baby closer when it whimpered. “Ssshhh. It’s okay, Alice. Mommy’s here.”
“Can I see her?” Sara wanted to know if the baby was Jason’s. If she could just get a glimpse...
Melissa whirled, fear etched on her face. “You just keep away from her. She’s mine. She’s always been mine.”
What an odd thing to say about your own child.
Drop the blanket. Let me see her face. Please.
“Melissa—”
“Melissa? That’s the name you’re using, Bonnie? Good move. Didn’t think you were smart enough to change your name.”
Melissa glared at him. “I’m smart enough to get away from you.”
“You think living in this house makes you better than when you worked at the strip joint? Got news for you, darlin.’ You aren’t any better now than you were then. Don’t look a helluva lot different, either.”
“What the hell do you know? You’re just some two bit thug who happened to have rich relatives. If you’d been worth anything, your grandpa would’ve left the company to you.”
“Got all that from Jason did you? The only reason he got the company after I offed gramps was the old man changed the will, and I didn’t know it.”
Sara’s heart lurched. He’d killed his own grandfather as well as Jason? Looking at Leo, she didn’t want to imagine what else he was capable of. Fear rippled through her. She had to get out of there. But how? Maybe she could make a run for the door, but the thought of leaving a baby behind went against her nature. There had to be a way.
Please, God. Let there be a way.
She lowered herself to the couch as her head spun. “Why did you kill your grandfather, Leo?”
The look in his eyes turned dark, dangerous. “I wanted the company, and he wouldn’t give it to me.” His voice was deep, cold, menacing.
Sara stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. All this for a stupid
company
?
“Jason walked in and took over like he’d earned it. Hell, I even had to show him the ropes. He was so damned concerned about appearances he didn’t care what happened with the company as long as it looked good. He loved playing like he was someone better than he really was. Joined the country club, learned to play golf, bought that idiotic house so he could show you off and have big parties.”
His words stung more than he knew, except Jason
had
cared about the company. They’d both spent countless hours at the office every weekend working side by side. He’d wanted to succeed and not just bask in the glory of being a community leader. At least initially.
“He eventually got too full of himself—forgot who’d gotten him where he was.”
“What do you mean?” Stupid, she knew, but she might as well get all the answers.
“He found out about my little ‘side’ business there at the office. Apparently he didn’t think too highly of me filing false medical claims and pocketing the money.”
“That’s when you killed him, isn’t it, you asshole.” Melissa said it as a statement of fact, not a question.
Very calmly, as if he were talking to a simpleton, he said, “Yes,
Bonnie
. That’s when I killed him.”
The woman took a step toward him. “I’m gonna claw your eyes out.”
“Uh-uh.” He waved the gun.
She stopped. There wasn’t a lot she could do while holding her daughter, anyway.
Sara rubbed her forehead to ease the blinding headache that now centered behind her eyes.
“Damn it, Sara. Why’d you have to mess things up?”
She dropped her hand. “What?”
“You weren’t supposed to show up here. I told you I’d take care of everything. Like I always have.” Agitated, he paced the floor. Finally he stopped, the gun now hanging loosely in his hand by his side. “You were supposed to turn to me after Jason died.”
Incredulous, Sara stared at him. She had turned to him. He’d been to the house countless times since Jason’s death. Now Leo talked like he wasn’t the one who put her husband in his grave.