Dark Valentine (20 page)

“Let’s go,” she told her father before he could wind himself up. He was normally a patient man, but he had been pushed to his outer limits. Rhianna knew his doctor had increased his blood-pressure medication just before the trial commenced.

Shaking hands with the prosecutor, she said, “Thank you for everything, Mr. Clay. I hope we never find ourselves in these circumstances again.”

His relief was palpable. Rhianna supposed in her situation some victims would have harangued him.

“I’ll show you a way out of here to avoid the circus,” he said.

They left via a back entrance and as they drove past the district court a few minutes later, she saw Werner Brigham and his mother holding a press conference in front of the imposing white building. At their side, Jules Valiant stood with the rest of the defense team and various public-relations hirelings Rhianna recognized. These “family spokespeople” had been stage-managing media relations ever since the arrest, making sure to give the impression that their client was the “real” victim.

“They call this justice?” her father ground out from the driver’s seat. “It was a farce.”

“Don’t get started, Desmond,” Rhianna’s mother murmured. She always used his full name when she meant business; otherwise it was just “Des.”

They drove in silence for a few minutes, then Rhianna said, “I won’t be staying tonight. I need to get back to my job.”

Her mother turned awkwardly in the front seat. “Darling, it won’t hurt to wait until tomorrow. I don’t think you should go anywhere today. Not after this.”

“I’m fine,” Rhianna said. “The sooner I get on with my life the better.”

“Your mother thinks it’s time you gave us your address,” Des Lamb said. “And I agree with her.”

Rhianna didn’t put up a fight. She had already decided it was wrong to keep them in the dark anymore. As the car slowed for a set of traffic lights, she took a notepad from her purse, jotted down the details, and passed the slip forward.

Her mother took it eagerly. “Is Kate Lambert your employer?”

“No, that’s my new identity. I’m employed by Bonnie and Lloyd Moss, looking after their baby.”

This comment earned an irritated grunt from her father. “We put you through college so you could work as a nanny.”

“Des, let it go.” Her mother stroked a soothing hand over the skin at the back of his neck.

“No! This is what that asshole has done to my daughter. I’m going to kill him.”

“Dad, I won’t be doing this forever, and the Mosses are good people. You’d like them.”

“So long as you feel safe, Des and I are fine with it.” Her mother cast a wobbly smile in her direction.

Rhianna studied her father’s profile. He was flushed with anger, and the rigid set of his mouth betrayed the emotions he was trying to hide. She hoped he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

Carefully, she said, “Don’t worry about me. Oatman’s a safe place and I’ve even been learning how to shoot. You were right, Dad. It makes me feel stronger knowing how to handle a gun.”

Her father heaved a sigh. “Wonderful. My daughter now has to be armed because our wonderful legal system couldn’t put a nut behind bars.”

“You might not be able to get a flight out today,” her mother said, changing the subject in a thin voice. “They’re all overbooked these days.”

“That’s not a problem.” Rhianna had decided not to use her return flight. Brigham would expect her to head for the airport, so she had other plans. “I decided to cancel the return. I’m going to call Hertz now and arrange for a car instead. We can swing by their downtown office. It’s not far from Mimi’s place.”

“Get a medium-size,” her father said. “You don’t want to make that trip in one of those crappy compacts.”

“You’re going to drive all the way to Arizona?” her mother murmured weakly.

Tabitha Lamb viewed road trips as an invitation to disaster. If the unfortunate driver didn’t get a flat tire in the middle of the night on a lonely stretch of highway inhabited by a family of cannibals who lay in wait for breakdowns, she would make a wrong turn and end up in Wyoming.

Rhianna’s father snorted. “It’s not Mars. What are we talking about? Nine hundred miles?”

“Pretty close,” Rhianna said. “It’s a two-day drive. I’ll break the trip when I get to Grand Junction.”

“Oh, my Lord.” A maternal sigh.

Rhianna made the call to Hertz as her parents quibbled over the best route to take and where she should stop for food. “You guys can just drop me at the rental agency,” she said once she’d made the reservation. “I’ll pick up the car and go straight to Mimi’s to get my stuff.”

Her mother craned around. “You’re not even going to have lunch with us before you set off?”

“No, I better get going. I don’t want to be driving in the mountains
after dark
.”

“The mountains,” her mother echoed in horror.

“You know,” Rhianna mused aloud, “I think they shot some footage for the movie
Deliverance
up there.”

She exchanged a glance with her father via the rearview mirror, and they both burst into semi-hysterical laughter.

“I don’t know what you two think is so funny.” Tabitha Lamb’s tone was chagrined. “And on today of all days.”

The family fell silent.

Rhianna stared out the window at the familiar Denver skyline and felt her world falling in around her. If things had turned out differently, she could have come back here to stay. Maybe she could have returned to the person she used to be and the life she’d once had. And maybe she could have had a partner.

Not anymore. It was over. The best she could hope for now was a future she’d never planned on, in a place that held no past for her. She would make it work. She had no choice.

*

“Do you have to leave right
now
?” Mimi asked, plainly aghast.

Rhianna zipped her suitcase and lowered it from the bed to the floor. She glanced at her wristwatch. “It’s been three hours since they let him go. I need to get on the road before he shows up here.”

“Rhianna, the guy was just on trial. You can’t seriously imagine he’ll start stalking you again. Don’t you think he’s learned his lesson?”

“You’re assuming he acts like a normal person,” Rhianna said. “He doesn’t. You should have seen the way he looked at me after they read the verdict.”

“Okay, even if he is a nut, you’ve still got some time. I mean, won’t he be out celebrating. Isn’t that what assholes like him do when their rich families buy them a free pass?”

“I can’t take that chance.” Rhianna felt clammy just thinking about Werner Brigham sitting at a table, twirling that silver toothpick in his mouth. “When I was testifying…when I said what I really thought of him, you should have seen his face. It wasn’t just anger. There was something else. I can’t explain it. But he’s not going to give up, believe me.”

“Okay, so he’s obsessed and a weirdo. But your mom said all he could talk about when they put him on the stand was how much he loves you. I don’t think he’d actually try to hurt you.” Mimi flushed in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I know he
did
hurt you, but it sounds like he was confused, not that I’m making excuses for him. I mean—”

“Mimi!” Rhianna was astounded. If her closest friend in the world could be sucked in by Jules Valiant’s portrayal of Brigham, no wonder the jury found him not guilty.

“I just meant that maybe he’s had a wake-up call.”

“No,” Rhianna said patiently. “He wants to own me. Men like him don’t just give up and go back to watching Broncos games. They think they’re entitled to have whatever they want. And if they can’t have it, they make sure no one else can.”

Mimi’s deep blue eyes flooded with tears, and she tucked her light brown hair self-consciously behind her ears. “Your parents gave me one of your books about stalkers. I couldn’t read all of it, I got so frightened.”

Rhianna sat down on the bed and slipped an arm around her. “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself nowadays, and he’s not going to find me.”

Mimi grabbed her in a hug. “It’s so unfair. You’re a good person and none of this should have happened to you. I don’t understand why they didn’t charge him with something else. Even regular assault, if that would have gotten him convicted.”

“We offered him a deal,” Rhianna said.

At the time she had been outraged that the prosecutor would even suggest a lesser charge, but she could see the point in plea bargains now. Receiving some semblance of justice was better than nothing. In her case, the jury had deliberated for so long that Norman Clay said there must have been several holdouts who didn’t want Brigham set free. But in the end, they had believed his version of events and not hers. They had swallowed everything Jules fed them.
They believed her, not me.
Rhianna was stunned by that simple, ugly fact.

“What kind of deal?” Mimi asked.

“Assault instead of rape, with eighteen months in prison instead of a mandatory five years. The defense turned us down.”

Because Jules Valiant had gambled on an outright win. All or nothing. Having seen her in action, Rhianna could understand why. She probably helped real monsters get away with murder. Maybe she defended child molesters, too. Rhianna ought to be thankful that she’d found out exactly who Jules was before they started seeing each other. What if she’d been in love with her? At least she could walk away now without a broken heart.

“Where are you going?” Mimi asked, staring at the luggage.

Rhianna hesitated. She hated not telling Mimi the whole truth. They’d shared secrets since elementary school. “I’m taking I-70 through Vail to Grand Junction.”

“Is that where you’ve been living? Grand Junction?”

“No, but that’s where I’m breaking my trip.”

“I wish you’d give me your new address.” Mimi’s small, bowed mouth formed a disheartened pout. “You know I won’t tell anyone.”

“It’s for your safety,” Rhianna said. “When things settle down, you can come visit me. Maybe I’ll even move back here.”

Mimi slanted a doubtful look at her. “If he comes calling I’ll tell him you’re on your way to Canada.”

Another country. Should she consider that option? Rhianna could not imagine having to start again somewhere else for the second time in six months, but over the next few weeks she needed to come up with a long-term plan. She had always expected Oatman to be a stopgap, a safe hideaway until Werner Brigham was locked up. Now she would have to decide whether to make her identity change permanent and become Kate Lambert officially. Was she safe, or should she put even more distance between herself and the man who would soon be hunting her again?

“Yes, tell him Canada,” she said, forcing a smile. “Better yet, Australia.”

“Want me to pack some snacks for the trip?”

Picturing bean salad and a couple of oatmeal muffins that could double as baseballs, Rhianna shook her head. “I’m not hungry. I can pick up something along the way.”

Mimi grimaced. “All they have on I-70 is fast-food chains. It’s a nightmare. Do you still have that Rescue Remedy I gave you for the trial? I have a spare if you’ve used it all up.”

“I have enough for the trip.” Somehow Rhianna doubted a Bach flower remedy was going to get her through the next few days.

She froze at the shrill alert of Mimi’s doorbell.

“I’m not expecting anyone.” Mimi’s features were tight with apprehension. She got off the bed and padded across the room. Her eyes flicked to Rhianna. “Do you think you should hide?”