Cut to the Chase (24 page)

C
hase stared at his children in awe. They were mere specks at this stage, but they were his. They were clearly labeled, “Baby A” and “Baby B.” He couldn't help but wonder if Erin was carrying boys, girls or one of each. It didn't matter; he would adore whatever combination he and Erin had created in love.

It was during their meeting with the doctor when he finally was able to introduce himself properly as the father and Erin's fiancé. The doctor didn't gloss over the importance of proper nutrition, rest, and mild exercise. Dr. Martinez must have sensed his apprehension, though he would have asked despite the embarrassment it would bring to both he and Erin, because she mentioned that sexual intercourse was still something they could partake in, but that they might want to refrain from such activity as they approached the last month of pregnancy.

He couldn't wait to get Erin home to celebrate their baby news and the fact that she was going to be his wife.

Erin, Andrew and Chase were leaving the doctor's office when Erin gasped. “I left my prenatal vitamins on the counter while we were checking out.” She turned and started walking back into the building when she noticed something red splattered across her chest. Puzzled, she looked around to see Chase standing there, his back toward her, and swaying eerily. “Get back into the building, Erin,
now
!” screamed Andrew, rushing over to Chase. “And call nine-one-one.”

Erin wanted to see what was causing Andrew to raise his voice in a way that sounded desperate and full of panic, but she complied and ran back into the high-rise. She withdrew her phone and made the call. It was only when Andrew reappeared with Chase's arm draped around his neck and then laid him on one of the lobby's couches that she knew what to say to the nine-one-one operator.

Erin looked down and watched Andrew apply pressure to Chase's left shoulder. There was so much blood, and it was clear that Chase was on the verge of passing out. “My boyfriend's been shot…I think. Send an ambulance to the Wallford Building on Twenty-Fourth,” she said and ended the call. Erin rushed over to examine the wound. If Erin wanted to know if she had what it took to be in the field of medicine, to not crack under pressure, this was the time to find out.

Erin pushed her emotions aside and forgot for a moment that the man she hovered over to assess was the same man who had just proposed to her. “Andrew, get me some water and towels,” she said, ripping Chase's bloodstained shirt open. Chase hissed from the jolting movement, which Erin considered to be a positive thing.

“Keep your eyes on me,” Erin said, “Don't fade on me, now. I'll just think it's your way of getting out of marrying me, you know, to avoid me tying you down, making you off-limits to every woman in the world.”

Andrew came back with a bottle of water and some hand towels. Erin splashed some water on the area in which she thought the wound was. It was difficult to tell for certain, due to the massive pool of blood, but the bullet hole finally came into view. She wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but he still wasn't completely out of danger. Although the bullet appeared to have missed every major organ and artery, she wasn't comfortable with the amount of blood he was losing.

With Andrew's help, she pressed on the wound with the clean white towels to help ebb the flow of blood. “In my heart, we are already married,” Chase said, his voice gravelly. His eyes fluttered before he passed out in her arms.

Scott was thankful that he had devoted the time to ensure that his weapon could be disassembled in ten seconds or less. He had practiced for hours in the comfort of his home, breaking down the suppressed .308 rifle and placing it back into the briefcase. In a suit and tie, coming to and from a hospital every day, the briefcase would appear to be an appropriate accessory, part of his attire.

From the dark and secluded alleyway between two impressive buildings, Scott marveled at the chaos he had created. But he knew that he couldn't linger. There was an alibi to secure and Chinese food to pick up. He grabbed his briefcase and walked in the opposite direction from the Wallford Building, where people were swarming and hunkering down in fear of more gunfire. He hailed a cab and jumped in.

As the distance grew, Scott felt more empowered, and very much at ease. But he was not completely satisfied. He had hoped to have the time to fire off a few more rounds and take out the Whore as well. But the fucking bodyguard had gotten her out of the line of fire so quickly that he would just have to settle for claiming the one life for now.

Scott directed the cabbie to pull over about a block up from the Chinese restaurant. He paid his fare in cash and walked the rest of the way. He had called on his way to the assassination and put his order in. The food should be ready by now. As he'd hoped, Scott entered the restaurant, paid the bill, and generously tipped the young waitress. If he hustled, taking a few back-alley short cuts, he could be at Plain Jane's apartment in minutes.

Just feet from her building, he hit up a flower vendor on the street and bought a huge bouquet of roses. This was going to be the only tricky part of the evening. Scott knew he couldn't just walk in through the main entrance of her apartment building. His tail needed to believe that he had been at Plain Jane's the entire evening. He had been able to leave undetected through a back entrance, but the door had locked behind him.

Earlier, when Scott had been having coffee with Plain Jane, he had taken notice of the rickety old fire escape leading from her balcony to the ground below. With the flowers secured between his teeth and the plastic bag of Chinese food in his hand, Scott climbed the death trap of steps and hopped onto her balcony. Scott peered in through the French door and noticed Plain Jane setting the kitchen table for two. He put the flowers behind his back and tapped the glass with his knuckle. Plain Jane's jaw dropped as she raced to the door and undid the latch.

“How did you get up here,” she asked, clearly shocked and looking over the balcony.

“I tried out your fire escape, which by the way should be condemned, to surprise you…and to give you these,” he said, unveiling the flowers.

“Oh my God! Climbing up my escape…with flowers…you're just like Richard Gere in
Pretty Woman
!”

“Let me guess, one of your chick flicks you are so fond of?” he asked, smiling.

Plain Jane gave him a kissed, which was thankfully not prolonged, and said, “A chick flick that just so happens to star Julia Roberts,” she said, looking all googly-eyed and pathetic.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Press
PLAY
. I want to know if Richard Gere has anything on me,” he said, chuckling.

J
osh had been fooling himself these last few weeks into thinking that his mother wasn't the calculating, heartless woman that she was. Amidst the stop-and-go traffic, he stared at the text that she had sent him just minutes ago and cursed until he was hoarse. No, she wasn't getting off that easy.

Josh dialed his mother and waited through four rings before she picked up.

“Do you know what day it is?” he asked, barely able to contain his disdain for the woman who had given him life.

“Hello to you, too, sweetheart. Yes, I'm aware that we scheduled our date for tonight, but your father needs me to attend an impromptu business dinner with him. It's extremely important that I be there, you know, for appearance's sake. I'm sorry to tell you this on such short notice. I hope it's not a terrible inconvenience.”

Josh felt ill, but he wasn't going to end the phone call without letting her have it. It was the last time he was going to speak to her, so why hold back? “You really don't know why tonight is so significant?”

Silence. It had either dawned on her that tonight was the anniversary of Julia's death or she was racking her brain for enlightenment.

“Let me help you out. I chose tonight so we could be together for Julia. You remember Julia, don't you?” he asked, no longer withholding his anger.

With a sharp tongue, one he remembered clearly from his childhood, she lashed out and said, “You have always been sentimental, never able to let go of things. It's what makes you weak.”

Josh couldn't believe what he was hearing. “So remembering Julia, how wonderful she was, makes me weak in your eyes?” he asked. But he didn't really care anymore to hear her response. “Why did you ask to see me in the first place?”

His mother sighed and said, “Your father and I know that the money you stole from us, the money you were secretly transferring from one account to another, must be gone by now. We were hoping you would abandon the pipe dream and return home where you belong, at your father's side, preparing to take over the business. He wishes to retire in two years and if you would just come to your senses, like you should have years ago, his empire could be yours.”

And with that, all hope for one day reuniting with his family was lost.

The police had come to the hospital and had taken their statements, which were short and devoid of anything that could suggest that Scott Morris or Josh Graham could have pulled the trigger. It killed Erin to play dumb, but she knew that Chase, Andrew and Paul had plans of their own.

Erin had told the police officer that they were leaving her ob-gyn's office, where she had discovered that she was pregnant with twins, when Chase was shot. That must have struck a chord in the man in blue, because his serious tone softened after that and he concluded the interview. Andrew's statement was brief and confirmed everything Erin had said. Chase had hung on long enough to give the police what they wanted, which was a garbled plea for them to find his fiancé's stalker, before drifting off again.

“He has lost a tremendous amount of blood, but he'll be okay. With the pain meds, Mr. Montclair should sleep peacefully for several hours,” the doctor said, giving Erin a comforting smile.

“Thank you, but I would like to spend the night with him.”

The doctor's face fell when he asked, “Are you family?”

Erin could have lied, but she didn't have the strength. “No, though he had proposed to me just minutes before he was shot.” Erin looked at Chase, who was partaking in a chemically assisted sleep.

The doctor shifted from one foot to the other, as if he was uncomfortable to be on the receiving end of something so personal. “Well, I believe that's close enough. I'll have a nurse bring a cot in for you.”

Erin smiled and thanked the doctor before he left. Once alone, Erin let the tears flow freely. They receded somewhat when Andrew took her in his arms and held her for what felt like hours. “We'll get him, Erin. I promise you,” he said.

Erin stepped out of Andrew's embrace. “When, Andrew? When it's too late? How many people need to be killed or wounded because of me?” she asked. With Chase out of the woods, all that concern morphed into white-hot fury. And what she sought, what she needed, were answers…and then revenge.

“You haven't caused this, Erin,” Paul said from the doorway of Chase's hospital room. Mia was standing next to him, holding his hand.

“No? Really? Look at him. He's proof that being around me is dangerous,” she said, pointing at Chase. Erin suddenly felt like she was going to vomit, and pregnancy had nothing to do with it this time. It had finally hit her that if the bullet had struck just a few inches over, Chase wouldn't be lying here. He would be in a body bag in the basement of the hospital.

Erin pushed past the nausea and walked over to her purse. The days of sitting back and doing nothing were over. She took out her phone and started to dial when Paul asked, “Who are you calling?”

“I'm cutting our small suspect list down to one,” she said.

“No need,” Andrew said, staring at his own phone. “Just received a text from Alex, one of the men I had assigned to locate Josh Graham. Apparently, Graham showed up at your old apartment, where he is ready and waiting to be questioned.”

Erin grabbed her purse and started for the door.

“You're not going there alone,” Paul said, blocking Erin's path.

“I don't care who wants to join me, but I'm confronting Josh tonight,” she said.

Mia, the voice of reason, spoke out. “I'll stay here with Chase while Paul goes with you. In the meantime, I'll speak with Frank to ensure that Morris's whereabouts were accounted for the entire night.” Mia stood between Paul and Erin and said, “Confront him…but don't kill him, especially if you're holding him against his will.” Mia kissed Paul and then gave Erin a hug. “Chase and I don't want to visit either of you in prison.”

W
ith his hands and feet tied to the chair and duct tape sealing his mouth shut, Josh looked like he was starring in some mob movie. The emotions were flying as Erin stared at her best friend and possible rapist. Erin summoned all her strength, walked over and ripped the tape away. He winced, as it couldn't have felt good to have the tiny hairs on his face peeled away from his flesh in one fell swoop.

“Jesus Christ, Erin! What the hell is going on?” he growled. Andrew and the man who had apparently apprehended him and dragged him into her old apartment stepped closer.

Erin didn't want this to take too long. She wanted to get back to Chase and take care of him. So, she decided to just put it all out on the table. “I was raped while we were in college…that last night of class, after Dr. Farrell's final exam. I never saw his face, never had an idea of who could have done such a thing.”

Standing over him, she watched for a reaction, one that would go beyond the scope of normal. His eyes grew wide and she noticed that he stopped breathing for a moment.

“That's why you left like you did…I always wondered.” He looked up at her. “Why didn't you tell me?” he asked.

Unable to tell if he was being sincere or if he was just the most talented actor she had ever seen, she withdrew her cell phone and showed him the text she'd had Mia forward to her own cell. “Why would you send this to my friend, Josh?” she asked.

His eyes narrowed as he read the words. “I didn't send that. Who's Mia?” he asked.

“No? You didn't send this?” Erin asked. Appearing dazed, he shook his head. “Who has Josh's phone?” Erin asked. The man to Josh's left handed over the phone.

Erin scanned his sent mail and found the text. She put his phone directly in front of his face and said, “I think you should rethink your story, Josh.”

“I'm telling you I didn't send that. And I don't even know a Mia or an Angel. For Christ's sake, why don't you believe me?” he yelled.

She crossed her arms to conceal her trembling fingers. “Why are you in New York tonight?” she asked, disregarding his words completely. Her heart was racing and she felt like she was going to throw up.

“Not that I would expect you to mark your calendar for something so morbid, but tonight is Julia's anniversary. I was meeting my mother for dinner, but she cancelled at the last minute. Since I was already in the city, I thought I would come by and surprise you.”

His excuse was logical and as much as she hated to admit it, very plausible. Still, that text hovered over her, demanding her attention. “You're here, tied up like this, because the evidence I have points to you.”

Now it was his turn to look like he was going to be sick. The expression on his face was one of betrayal and heartbreak. “I would never hurt you, Erin. You were like a sister to me. You reminded me so much of Julia, from the way you laughed to the way you…just accepted me for who I was.”

Erin felt the tears begin to form and she wanted so much to run over, cut him loose and shower him with apologies. But she could never live with even the slightest bit of doubt. It would fester and eat away at her forever.

“How can I prove it to you…that I wasn't the man who…hurt you?” he said, struggling for words.

“Where were you that night? Where did you go after you left Erin with Dr. Farrell?” Paul asked, stepping out of the shadows. He had remained quiet, giving Erin full control of the interrogation, until now.

Josh lowered his head and stared at the ground.

Before Erin realized it, Paul had Josh by the throat and was squeezing the life out of him. Josh was gasping for breath when Erin yelled for Paul to stop. Paul let go of him, but Erin could tell it was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Back off, Paul. Please,” she said. It killed her to ask this of him, but she knew she had to do this her way. “Did you go to the Irish Pub…like you said?”

Josh's breathing was slowly returning to a healthy pace and the color in his face had taken on a more natural hue. Josh shook his head. “No.” Josh looked her squarely in the eye. “I spent that evening in a jail cell, Erin.”

Erin looked over at Andrew and saw his brow rise. “Explain, Graham,” Andrew demanded.

“After class, I went to visit a woman who I had been seeing. I hadn't planned it, but she had sent me a text, and well…”

“The friend?” Erin asked. She suddenly remembered. “Right before you left me alone with Dr. Farrell, you smiled and said…”

“‘She'll never hold a candle to you, sweetheart,'” Josh said, finishing her thought, a thought that was now permanently in her memory. There was so much regret in his eyes that Erin had to look away.

“I had been seeing Lindsey for a few weeks, but she had never asked me to come to her place until that night. I didn't think much of it. I didn't care enough to wonder why. She wasn't looking for a relationship, either. And she never asked for more than I could give.” Josh's voice cracked, prompting Erin to look at him once more. The regret she had perceived in his eyes had been replaced with what looked like shame. Erin didn't want to think of the college boy she loved like a brother; she wanted to be strong and finish this.

“Lindsey and I were in the middle of having sex when her husband came home.”

Those feelings of pity she had for Josh were in the process of fading when he continued. “I didn't know she was married. I would never have gotten involved with her if I had. She never wore a wedding band, never let on once that she belonged to someone else until her husband's fist found my jaw. I fought back, but I knew I deserved the black eye and split lip he gave me. I didn't know how much commotion we had caused until the police showed up and took me in.”

Erin saw Andrew withdraw his phone from his pocket. Like always, he was one step ahead of her. “We should be able to confirm his story easily, right Andrew? Since he was arrested?”

Josh shook his head. “It's not likely you will find any record of me gracing the Ninth District Headquarters with my presence that night. My father's attorney made sure of it.”

“Ninth District?” Andrew asked.

Josh nodded.

Andrew was in the process of dialing when he walked to the other side of the room, out of earshot.

Erin didn't question Andrew and decided to focus her attention on Josh. “You told me you haven't spoken to either of your parents since…Julia. Why would your father come to your aid, Josh? And why would you accept his help?” Erin was truly perplexed. The stories Josh had shared with her, the coldness he had to endure as a child, left him completely justified to shut them out of his life for all eternity.

“I didn't have an opportunity to tell my father's attorney to get the hell out, that I would rather spend my remaining savings on hiring a lawyer to get my ass out of trouble. But everything had been taken care of before I could stop it. Why? Because my father thought that if he bailed me out, I would be grateful. And to show my appreciation, I would return to New York to run a company that has blood on its hands.”

Josh's eyes grew dark and Erin could tell he was back in that place he could go to once in a great while. But as quickly as the darkness would consume him, it would leave, and the carefree and wonderful person she had grown to love would come back to her. But those shadows did not fade, not this time. He was most likely thinking of how his mother and father's greed had driven him and his sister from their childhood home and onto the Garden State Parkway, a long dark stretch of road that claimed the life of a beautiful girl. It took everything Erin had not to run over and hug her best friend and chase his demons away.

“What time did you leave the police station, Josh?” Her voice wavered, but she stood her ground.

“It was a little after midnight. By one in the morning I was lying in my bed, alone, and chasing a few Motrin with a few swigs of Jack before calling it a night.”

“Paul, release him,” Andrew said. He was no longer talking on the phone and was walking toward her.

Paul had been quiet, to the point Erin had forgotten that her brother was there. He had listened to her and knew that she needed to control this. And she loved him for it.

Andrew stopped and stood in front of her. He took both her hands in his and said, “I spent some time in Philly as an officer. I still have ties there, to the Ninth District in particular. I asked an officer, a friend I've known for years to dig for me, to confirm that Joshua Graham had been brought in that night. My friend, a man I trust, said Josh wasn't arrested, but there is still record of him being there and that he didn't leave until midnight. Erin, Josh's story checks out. He's not the one, honey.”

Erin nodded and sobbed into her hands. Her legs grew weak. Andrew embraced her. Paul finished untying Josh and then took over for Andrew, allowing her to weep against his chest. But there was someone else in the room who deserved more attention than she did. Trembling, Erin stepped out of Paul's firm grasp and looked at her best friend. “I'm so sorry, Josh. I just…” she broke down and cried harder. Josh came over and held her, allowing her to cry a year's worth of tears.

“Shh. Don't cry,” he said, stroking her hair. Erin had no idea how he couldn't be furious with her. “You could have told me what had happened to you, but I understand why you didn't,” he said, squeezing her tight. “I meant what I said. You were, are, like a sister to me.”

Erin didn't deserve him. What she had just put him through was unforgivable, the horrific things she had accused him of, yet there he stood, speaking words of comfort and compassion.

“God, I've missed you,” she said. “More than you know.”