Evil Never Dies (The Lizzy Gardner Series Book 6) (24 page)

“Do I detect a note of happiness?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile, “you do. I didn’t see it coming, but I’m excited about what’s ahead.”

Chase’s surprise quickly turned to concern. “I’m glad for you, Lizzy, but the reason I asked you to come here today is because I’m worried about something.”

Lizzy waited for him to continue.

“Bennett named you specifically as his assailant.”

“Ridiculous.” Lizzy did her best to appear untroubled. “Thanks for the warning, Detective, but you don’t need to worry about me.”

“He was hoping to find video footage on his high-definition security system. I have to ask you straight up. Did you set foot on Wayne Bennett’s property?”

“No.”

“As you know, he can be ruthless.”

“You said he was hoping to find video footage . . . Did he or didn’t he?”

“My guys have already checked into it. Bennett’s recording was on full HD. He didn’t have the required HDD storage capacity needed to keep the video loading. He’s got nothing.”

Relieved, Lizzy said, “Are you trying to say you think he might come after me?”

His shoulders dropped. “I’m just telling you to be careful, that’s all.”

“Don’t worry. I always am.”

CHAPTER FORTY

Tonight Hayley had decided to make the rounds by herself. Her car was still broken down and she had no plans to have it fixed, so she had hitchhiked her way to West Sacramento.

She and Kitally had spent five nights out on the streets, and they had nothing to show for their efforts. Kitally might be upset when she found out Hayley went without her, but that was too bad. She preferred to work solo.

She passed by the park and then found a spot where she could sit on the curb and watch a few people down the road setting up camp. She pulled out her cigarettes and lit one up, wondering if she’d ever really be able to quit the habit.

As she sat beneath the stars, she thought of her date with Tommy and found herself smiling as she remembered his absurd talk of his future plans. Living in a little house by the river. Tommy could be a doofus at times, but he’d stuck by her. And she couldn’t help but wonder why.

She turned toward the sound of rattling wheels. A shopping cart, being pushed by a guy with long red hair and the beginnings of a beard. He stopped when he’d moved abreast of her and peered down at her.

“Got an extra smoke?”

“Sure.”

He took a seat next to her on the curb, and she gave him a cigarette and lit it for him.

“Thanks.” He took a long, luxurious drag and sent a column of smoke into the night air. “So,” he said, turning to her, “what’s a nice girl like you doing out here on the street?”

“Just enjoying a smoke,” she said with a laugh. She took a hit and then looked him over. “How’s it going?”

“Not too good. I lost my job six months ago. Made the rounds, spending the night with friends and family until I finally wore out my welcome. I wasn’t out here on these very streets for too long before I woke up one night to some mean-as-hell monster chick beating the hell out of me.”

Hayley sat up. “Skinny girl with white spiky hair?”

“That’s her. Demon girl, and I’m not kidding.” He shot another shaft of smoke into the night, then shook his head. “Who would have thought someone that mean would have a nice, sweet-sounding name like Nora Belle Castor?”

Butterfly wings danced in her stomach. “How do you know her name?”

“I tried to stop her from stealing my things from my cart here, and when I grabbed hold of her sweatshirt, she yanked away so fast I ended up tearing the thing halfway off her. I was inches from her bare arm, and there it was in fancy black ink—Nora Belle Castor. She lit into me after that. I spent the entire next day filling out a police report. I gave them her name, but they said there was no address for her. Not that they would have given me the information if they had it. They said I wasn’t the first one to complain about the girl who everyone referred to as the Ghost.” He frowned. “I guess that could have been her mother’s name, now that I think about it.”

Hayley stood then and handed him her entire pack of cigarettes and the lighter. “Here you go. They’re all yours.”

“Hey, thanks.”

“I really hope you find a way to get yourself off the streets.” And then she walked away.

Two weeks after Hayley had found out the name of the Ghost, she walked into the kitchen as she did most mornings after waking up, and she knew instantly that something was wrong.

It was way too quiet, for one thing.

Concerned, she went to Salma’s room. The bed was neatly made. All baby accessories were gone. On the dresser was a handwritten note:

Dear Hayley, Kitally, Lizzy, and Jessica,

I can never repay you for your kindness. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. I couldn’t take any chances. Joey and I have been making plans for a while now. Sadly, I will be unable to make contact with you in the future. As you know, it must be this way. In order to live a happy life without looking over our shoulders, difficult choices had to be made. I am giving up the only family I ever knew to make a new life for myself. All of you have taught me what it means to have a family I can trust and lean on in difficult times. I will never forget any of you. Our daughter, Hope Elizabeth, will grow up surrounded by love.

All our best,

Salma, Joey, and Hope

Later that day, Hayley sat at the end of the driveway and made a call to Jessica. It had to be done.

“What’s going on?” Jessica asked as soon as she picked up.

“I’m calling in a favor.”

“You can’t call in a favor, Hayley, unless I owe you a favor, which I don’t.”

“Do you always have to take everything so literally?”

“I just call it like it is.”

“OK, I
need
a favor. How’s that?”

“Better. What do you need?”

Hayley looked heavenward. “I need all the help I can get in locating a Nora Belle Castor. Caucasian. Young—late teens, early twenties. Last seen downtown. I’ve tried everything. I found a cousin, but he had no idea what she was up to or where she was living. Her parents live in New York and have yet to return my calls. I’m stumped.”

“No problem,” Jessica said.

“Thanks.” Hayley couldn’t believe it was that easy. If she had known Jessica wouldn’t balk at her request, she might have called her weeks ago.

“How are Salma and the baby doing?”

“They’re gone. She and Joey took off with Hope Elizabeth in the middle of the night. I found her room empty. Just a note thanking us all, including you, for teaching her what family is all about.”

“Ahh, well, that’s sweet . . . Wait a minute, did you say Hope Elizabeth? Did she finally give her a name?”

“That’s what the note says.”

“I like it. And Salma is right—we are family, aren’t we?”

“That’s us. One big happy family.”

Jessica laughed. “Did Lizzy tell you that she’s leaving the investigative business?”

“She did.”

“Did she tell you she was thinking about selling the business?”

“She mentioned it, yes.”

“What do you think?”

“If you’re thinking of buying it, I think it’s one of the craziest ideas you’ve ever had, and you’ve had your fair share.”

“Wow. Don’t be shy. Tell it like it is.”

“You never liked the business,” Hayley said. “You hate stepping over the line. You don’t like confrontation. You quit the business for a reason.”

“Hey, I was always good with people.”

“Are you kidding me? You were shot and kidnapped, and I’ve never seen anyone get more doors slammed in their face than you.”

“Now you’re just being your usual rude self.”

“You asked me what I thought. The idea makes absolutely no sense to me. You’ve worked hard to get where you are. Why would you even consider giving that up?”

“I asked you what you thought about Lizzy selling the business. Although I’ve already begun to realize that bureaucracy equals paperwork and I’ve never been keen on paperwork, I have zero interest in becoming a PI.”

“Well, phew, that makes me feel better.”

Jessica laughed. “Kitally, on the other hand, has shown some interest.”

“Kitally wants to buy the business?”

“When Lizzy and I talked about it, that’s what she told me.”

“Well, she certainly has the money to do it,” Hayley said. “Either way, you should stick with the FBI gig, Jessica. You’re going to make a fine special agent someday. We all know that.”

“Thanks,” Jessica said.

“You’re welcome. Now if you could find an address for Nora Belle Castor, I will be forever indebted.”

“What did the girl do?”

“She’s trouble with a capital
T
. She beats the crap out of homeless people while they’re sleeping.”

“So, what are you going to do with her when you find her?”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to turn her over to the police.” And that much was true.

There was a long bout of silence before Jessica said, “Sure. I’ll call you if I get a hit.”

“Thanks. Talk to you soon.”

As soon as she hung up the phone, Hayley heard Lizzy’s footfalls approaching.
Funny
, she thought,
how everyone has their own distinct walk
. She always knew who was coming and going based on the quickness of their movements and the noises they made. Kitally walked fast and always sounded like a deer scampering through the room. Lizzy was the opposite. Not slow, exactly, but methodical, as if she was watching everything in her path as she went along.

Lizzy sat down on the curb next to her, a cup of hot tea snug between her palms. Hayley could hear her breathe in.

“It’s so quiet in there without Salma and the baby,” Lizzy said at last.

“You might want to enjoy it while it lasts.”

“You might be right.”

“If you came out here to find out if I was still angry with you, the answer is no. If you had finished Bennett off, I don’t think you could have lived with yourself, although now we all need to sleep with one eye open.”

“I think it’s time to call it quits.”

“You can’t simply forget about Bennett. You know that.”

Lizzy nodded. “Not Bennett, but the others.”

“There’s only two more people left on the list who haven’t been taken care of. Scott Shaffer and the Ghost.”

“Bag it, Hayley,” Lizzy said. “It was never a good idea to begin with.”

“I’ll think about it,” Hayley said, even though she would do no such thing.

Lizzy looked at her for a long moment, then asked, “Do you remember the first time we met?”

Hayley dropped her head into her open palms. “Are you going to get all sentimental on me, Lizzy?”

“I don’t know . . . maybe. My hormones are raging. Are you really going to deprive me of one little sentimental journey through time?”

“Fine. Go for it.”

“The first time I saw you, I saw a little bit of me in you.” Lizzy nudged her arm. “Don’t make fun.”

“I didn’t say a word.”

“You had piercings all over your face, and your hair was dark and spiky. You had a tough look to you, but there was one thing that gave you away, something that told me you just needed a friend.”

It was quiet, and Hayley knew she was waiting for her to ask. “OK, I’m taking the bait. How did you know I was really this amazingly kind person with a soft inner shell?”

“All sarcasm aside, it was the angel tattoo on your collarbone.”

Hayley shook her head.

“What?”

“You’re grasping at straws here. I almost chose a devil with horns instead of an angel. It’s just a tattoo, Lizzy.”

“You’re right. Who am I kidding? You made the sheriff bleed that day.”

They both laughed, and yet they both knew it wasn’t funny. Lizzy had asked Hayley to demonstrate for a classroom full of young girls how she might get away from someone if she were grabbed from behind. After Officer Stuckey put his arms around Hayley, she bit him so hard he bled right through the sleeve of his shirt.

“I wonder how many kids over the years really listened,” Lizzy said, “really understood what they would need to do to save their own lives.”

“No telling,” Hayley said.

They sat quietly for a moment, each lost in her thoughts.

“Brace yourself for some more sentimental claptrap,” Lizzy said.

“Oh God.”

Lizzy ignored her. “I know you miss your mom,” she said, “but I want you to know that I love you as if you were my own daughter. I never want you to feel as if you’re alone. Not for one minute. You will always have me, and I like to think that I will always have you. Does that make sense?”

Hayley gave her a nod.

“It’s hard to believe I’m going to be a mother, isn’t it?”

“Not really. I saw you hold Salma’s baby. You looked like a natural to me.”

“Jared would have been an amazing father,” Lizzy said.

“He would have been. But you will be an amazing mother, and that kid of yours will be just fine.”

“And you,” Lizzy said, “will be an extraordinary godmother.”

“I can’t be there for your baby,” Hayley told her. “I want to be, I really do, but I’ve decided to leave town.”

“I know you’re angry at me for not taking care of Bennett while I had the chance, but, like you said, I couldn’t have lived with it. It wouldn’t have been right. And I also know I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I’ve let you down more than once. But, Hayley, you can’t leave.”

“You didn’t let me down. Yes, I would have preferred it if Bennett had been taken out of the picture, it’s true, but it was your decision to make, not mine. Besides, I’m not going anywhere until that maniac is behind bars. He’s a loose cannon, and we can’t leave him be.”

“Agreed,” Lizzy said.

“You never let me down, Lizzy. I let myself down. Sure, we might be able to put a few criminals away, save a few more lives from being ruined, but it will never stop. I get that. And, yes, there was a time when I thought I could fight evil with evil. Maybe you did, too. But I still have this rage inside me. It’s deep and it’s dark, and it hasn’t even hit the surface. I certainly can’t be around your son or daughter, a tiny person who would be influenced by my actions and words. I can’t change, not completely. I don’t even know if I want to change.”

“If you left, I would spend the rest of my days worrying about you. Stay with me. Help me raise this baby. You know I can’t do it alone.”

“Nice try. You’ve been alone most of your life. You were born to be a mom. Hell, you’ll be the best mom in the world. I know it and you know it.”

“I found a house in Loomis,” Lizzy went on. “It’s not far from here. The property is amazing. There’s a lake and an old barn. We could get a horse. There’s an extra room just for you. Whether you come to live with me next month or next year, I want you to know there will always be a room ready and waiting for you.”

“I appreciate it,” Hayley said.

Lizzy patted her knee and then pushed herself to her feet. No sooner had she walked back into the house than Hayley’s phone vibrated.

It was Jessica.

Hayley picked up the call.

“I have an address.”

“Already?”

“Let’s just say I got a little help from a friend.”

“OK. I’m all ears—let’s have it.”