Flames Of Deceit (17 page)

Lifting a shoulder, Jake glanced away from the road. “People kill their partners all the time, and they loved them at least long enough to marry them.”

“Okay, Phil’s words don’t clear him. But I know him. He couldn’t commit murder.” Mia sighed.

“You have doubts. Don’t deny it. Remember the morning after the fire. We were searching for the disc. You were worried that Leigh Anne might be telling the truth about Phil.”

Mia slumped in her seat. “So? Phil admitted some of what Leigh Anne said was true. They had an affair. But he’s certain he didn’t get her pregnant.”

“You believe him this time?” Jake hated saying the words. Hated making her admit her brother had made bad choices, but her life was at risk. They didn’t know who was trying to harm her. “He lied under oath at the hearing, committed prudery.”

“Phil cheated on his wife, had two affairs—”

“Because he could—”

“What are you saying?” Mia whirled to face him. “Because he could...what?”

“No, wait.” Jake checked the rearview mirror and pulled out to pass a slow moving car. “We can’t ignore the fact that Phil is a politician. He does things ordinary men can’t or won’t do. It’s part of his job description. We’ve been looking at this all wrong.”

“We shouldn’t blame him, since he’s a politician?”

“No, ask yourself why it was so easy for him to cheat. Why did two women throw themselves at him? One was an ex-model, and he wasn’t her first fling, but why Pam Foley?”

“Phil said she was the kind of woman you take home...” Mia turned to Jake her eyes wide. “So, why did Pam throw herself at Phil? Why would someone with Leigh Anne’s connections go after a man like Phil? He’s a senator, sure, but he isn’t Tom Selleck. Why would a former model have a fling with Phil?”

“She wanted something from him.” Jake said.

“Phil isn’t rich or powerful. Someone used her to get to him. This all points back to Stern-McHamlin.”

Jake nodded. “Both women were secretaries for the company, and both were murdered.”

Whistling through his teeth, Jake stared at the road ahead. Very few cars had stayed with them for the twenty miles back to the lakefront community. Glancing away from the road, he turned to look at Mia. “I think we can take Phil off the list of suspects.”

“You’re certain?”

The hopeful note in her voice tore at Jake’s heart. Giving a left signal, he steered toward their exit. “Yeah, I think it’s time. Who does that leave us with?”

“The four vice presidents. We should rank them. I would put Charles Herne at the bottom of the list.”

“Fell for his blond good-looks did you?” Jake welcomed her loss of tension.

“He’s really nice, and losing Leigh Anne broke his heart.”

Jake slowed and turned right. “There’s the entrance to the Tobacco Trail. I wondered where it came out.”

Mia looked over her shoulder. “How long has that car been behind us?” Then she sniffed. “Listen to me. I’ll be neurotic by the time this is over.”

Jake stared in the rearview mirror. “I wish I could reassure you, but I didn’t notice anything until he turned off behind us.”

“It could be someone that’s been to a late movie.” Mia looked in the side mirror. “It’s not following close.”

“Could be nothing.” Jake looked at the road. “Back to the list. What’s your guess?”

Chewing on her lip, Mia watched mailboxes slip past their headlights. “I think Alan Yow is third. Edward Poole and Thomas Goldman are a toss-up.”

“How do you figure?” Jake eased in the driveway and hit the garage remote.

“Well, Poole is the spurned lover—”

“So is Charles Herne.”

“Yes, but Charles Herne really seems broken up about Leigh Anne’s death.”

Jake laughed and shook his head as he climbed out of the SUV.

“What?” Mia demanded standing in the open passenger door and staring at him across the bucket seats. “Don’t laugh. Charles Herne is mourning Leigh Anne’s death. Poole and Goldman don’t seem to care.”

Jake braced a hand on the headrest and stared at her through the car. “Which one gave you bad vibes?”

Eyes sparkling with laughter, Mia leaned her elbows on the passenger seat and looked at him. “So, is this how a judge’s mind works? You decide your cases on gut instinct?”

Jake shrugged. His admiring gaze roamed over her laughter-filled face. Mia’s smile made his pulse race. He wanted to see more of that smile. Wanted to make her laugh and enjoy life.

Whoa
.

What was he thinking? When this was over, he wouldn’t have any reason to see more of Mia. They would say goodbye and go their separate ways.

He didn’t want that. He wanted Mia in his life. An hour ago, someone had tried to kidnap her. Before he could think about the future, he had to make sure she got out of this alive.

“Sometimes, instinct is your best bet.” Jake swallowed as he looked in her eyes. “If I had listened to my wife’s feelings, she might not have died.”

Mia expelled an audible breath. “What happened?”

Leaning on the seat, Jake held her gaze. “There was a training session for firefighters in Raleigh that weekend. She asked me not to go.” He shrugged. “I went, so she and Stevie went to the movies alone. If I had stayed home like she asked, I would have been driving and they might still be alive.”

“Or you might be dead, too.” Mia’s heart ached for the pain she saw in his eyes. “It wasn’t your fault, Jake. You couldn’t have prevented the accident.”

“True, but it’s always there in my head, the wondering—”

Bright lights suddenly glared through the small windows at the top of the garage doors behind them. The sound of the engine on the other side was loud. She thought the vehicle was going to run into the doors. “What—”

Jake leaned into the cab, his eyes bored into hers. “You can’t say this isn’t my fault. I should have kept better check on the traffic behind us.”

She glanced toward the door, then back to his face. “Maybe it’s your friend, Dan.”

Shaking his head, Jake cut a glance toward the sudden silence as the engine stopped. The car’s lights went out, leaving the interior bulb of the SUV as the only light. They had been so busy, debating the guilt of the vice-presidents they hadn’t turned on the lights in the garage.

“Check the glove box for a flashlight,” Jake latched his door quietly, and crossed to her side.

“Nothing,” Mia murmured as she backed out of the door.

“Latch the door to kill the light and stay here.” Jake breathed against her cheek. Then he moved toward the automatic doors.

Once there, he looked out the high windows. Mia’s heart thumped so loud she almost didn’t hear his whisper when he returned. “It’s a black sports car.”

Her heart raced. “How did he find us?”

Jake took her shoulders in his hands and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Followed us home, is my guess.”

“But how...you don’t think it—”

“The same person who grabbed you outside the bar? Yeah.” He pulled her against his chest and wrapped her so tight in his arms, their hearts beat as one.

Mia melted against him. When she’d imagined being close enough to feel a man’s heart beat in tune with hers, she’d expected it to be an act of affection after passionate lovemaking. She wanted those things with Jake. Love. Passion. Intimacy. But here they were, in a garage and the person on the other side the door wanted to kill them.

Instead of the dream scenario of her imagination, she had fear, threats, and danger. Sucking in air, she stared up at the shadow that was Jake’s head. “What are we going to do?”

“He drove in and didn’t try to conceal his presence. He means business.” Jake whispered.

“Why didn’t he sneak in so the neighbors wouldn’t see him?” Mia breathed the words into the dark.

Jake’s grip on her shoulders tightened. “He’s desperate. He doesn’t want us to escape. He pulled his car close, blocking both garage doors.”

Mia gasped. “We’re trapped?”

“For the moment.” Jake gave her a quick hug and held her away. “It all comes down to this, Mia. Are you ready to finish this battle?”

Mia recalled all the fear, worry, and danger they had experienced since the fire. “I want to know who is trying to kill me.”

“He’s going around the house. My guess is he’ll try to break in.”

“Why doesn’t he just wait for us to come out?” She heard the plea in her words. Waiting sounded good.

“We might call the police.” Jake murmured.

“We could. We have the phones.” She fumbled for her jeans pocket, but Jake stopped her with a hand over hers.

“By the time police arrived this far out of town, we could be dead and this guy long gone.” He squeezed her shoulder. “We have to get out of this on our own.”

“How? We can’t drive out. If we run, he’ll catch us in the car.” She felt Jake stiffen at her side. Then she heard it too. The sound of glass breaking. “He’s at the sliding glass doors in the den, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Jake tugged on her arm. “Come on, our time just ran out. If he doesn’t find us in the house, he’ll check out here. We’ll be sitting ducks.”

Legs trembling, she followed Jake to the far side of the garage. He stopped. She strained to see in the dark as he let go her arm. She heard his grunt of satisfaction.

“I thought I remembered seeing bicycles.”

“Bicycles? Are you crazy? It’s dark out there. How can we ride...”

Jake shoved handlebars into her hands. “How can we not?”

Mia looked at the shadowy outline of a bike and shook her head. “How will we see?”

He leaned close and whispered. “Follow me to the corner. There’s a single door there. Move as quiet as you can. We don’t have a second to waste.”

Knees knocking as if this were her first bicycle ride ever, Mia followed and eased her bike out the door behind him.

Jake turned left, staying behind the wall of the garage, instead of heading for the street. Mia followed, praying they would escape with their lives. Jake turned down the neighbor’s driveway and hopped on his bike.

Mia climbed on her bike and pedaled to catch up with him. The cold bright moon gave enough light to find their way, but she wished they could see better. They were still in sight of the house when she heard a crash behind them. Was it the sound of breaking glass or a gunshot?

She pumped the pedals faster.

“Don’t stop,” Jake called softly. “Follow me, I have a headlight.”

Follow me! How many times had she heard those words?

Even as she battled the urge to scream, panic clamped the sound in her throat. As she rounded the curve in the street, she noticed the dim light in front of Jake’s bike. He really did have a light. Somehow, that dim yellow glow gave her a ray of hope that they could escape this madman.

They were streaking down the tobacco trail before Mia realized they could have gone to a neighbor’s house. “Why didn’t we go next door and call police?”

Jake dropped back beside her. “Keep your voice down. Sound travels at night. We couldn’t take the risk. We’re strangers. Neighbors might not believe us, and even if they did, by stopping we’d put their lives at risk.” He pulled ahead. “Come on, we can do this.”

For about five minutes, Mia believed him. They could do this. Then she caught a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. Risking a wreck, she glanced over her shoulder, and saw a light similar to the one on Jake’s bike.

No. It couldn’t be.

A few yards later, she looked back again. The light was still there. Closer, even.

“Jake,” she panted, trying to catch up with him. “We have a problem.”

“Yeah, I saw the light. Pedal fast as you can to give us a lead.” He pumped his powerful legs and sent his bike rolling away.

Mia’s heart thumped in her chest. The cold air brought tears to her eyes and made it hard to breathe. The muscles in her legs screamed at the new demands put on her body.

With Jake leading, she kept her gaze on his back tire and followed as close as she could. The tobacco trail might be a delight for cyclists in the daytime, but on a cold March night, it was not her idea of fun. But she wanted to escape the killer and live another day. She couldn’t let Jake down.

If she slowed up, Jake would, too. She would put both of them in danger. She started this search by telling herself she couldn’t quit. Now, she really couldn’t, her life was on the line, not Phil’s career. She’d put Jake at risk, as well. Fueled with renewed energy, she pedaled with a renewed burst of speed.

She wanted...Jake and a future. She couldn’t allow a madman to cheat her of a chance spend time with Jake now that she’d found him. Eyes on his back wheel, her feet on the pedals, she intended to go as far as needed to escape.

“Mia.”

Focused on pedaling, she didn’t hear her name until Jake called a second time.

“Mia, stop.”

“Did we loose him?” She asked, panting.

“He’s gaining. We just rode over a culvert. Let’s go back.”

Mia followed him and stared at a black hole under the trail.

Jake dropped his bike to the ground. Grabbed her bike and rolled it behind a large bush.

Brow puckered, Mia stared. “What—”

“No time to explain.” Jake motioned to the dark shadow at his feet. “Climb in.”

Mia’s heart stopped. She bent closer and looked in the knee-high culvert. It was totally black. “I can’t—”

“It’s our only chance. I’ll lead him away and come back to get you.” Jake urged her into the black hole. “Lie down and back in. If you hear something, don’t move. I’ll come back for you.” At the last second, he pressed a hard kiss to her lips then pushed her to the ground.

Her lips tingling from his kiss, Mia bit back a whimper and stared at the culvert running under the bike trail. What if she got stuck...as she had as a kid? What if the slasher got Jake? What if he couldn’t come back to get her? What if...

“Hurry, he’s getting closer. I have to go.”

The urgency in his words ended her mental battle. It was time she learned to control her emotions. This was a matter of life and death. Hers and Jake’s. She could do this.

“It’s wet.” She shivered as water in the bottom of the culvert soaked her jeans.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Jake grabbed his bike. Gravel crunched as he wheeled back on the trail.

She started to scramble after him. Then saw the tiny light approaching fast. Fighting fears she’d had all her life, she wiggled backwards into the darkness of the culvert.

Her head and shoulders brushed against the walls. Her breath came fast and shallow so she almost passed out from fright, but the few inches of space over her head kept her from screaming. The tight, black space, dank odor, and the unknown person chasing them, added to emotions almost crushing her chest.

Memories played in her head in 3-D color. She’d been four. A skinny little kid without fear, when new floor covering for the kitchen arrived in a long cardboard roll. After workers emptied the tube, she and Phil claimed the cardboard tunnel for a toy. On the last of many trips crawling through the dark tube, she had been stuck.

Lying in the cold wet culvert, sweat beads pop out on her forehead. Her childhood panic flared to new life. As a child, she hadn’t been able to wiggle backward, or go forward. After her father cut her free, Mia learned Phil had been riding the tube like a horse. His weight collapsed the tube in front of her face. To this day, closed dark spaces instilled terror in her.

And this culvert was dark. On the verge of hyperventilating, she forced her thoughts to Jake and the danger he had chosen to save her. Forcing deep breaths into her lungs to keep from passing out, Mia focused on the current threat to their safety.

The sound of crunching gravel sent new fears exploding in her head. Catching her throat, she didn’t breath until dots danced in front of her eyes. She inhaled, expecting the culvert to collapse on her as the cardboard tunnel had...and listened to  sound of crunching as it got closer, louder.

With her heart almost jumping out of her chest, sanity returned. The noise of bicycle wheels the small gravel layering the tobacco trail reminded her of their remote location. Jake had asked her to stay hidden to keep her safe, but what about him.

Air filled her starved lungs.

New fears entered her head.

What if the madman saw her bike in the bushes and stopped? She dug her fingers into the wet cold surface of the culvert underneath her hands and fought the urge to crawl out.

Would the slasher find her?

If he stopped, there was no way she could escape.

She couldn’t go further back in the wet sludge...then Jake’s words, asking her to stay out of sight, echoed in her head. And kept her in place. Jake was risking his life to protect her. Again. She had to do as he’d asked.

The crunching sounded over her head and echoed in the culvert. Then, fast as it came, the sound faded away, disappearing in the direction Jake had gone.

Inhaling deep breaths of cold, smelly air in the culvert, new thoughts exploded in her head. What if the madman caught up with Jake, and she wasn’t there to help him. What if Jake couldn’t return to tell her it was safe? What if she waited and...

Adeline sent her slithering out of the culvert into the cold moonlit night. She was alive. Wet. Cold. Stinky, but she was alive. And she intended to stay that way, shivering limbs and all. It was time to make sure Jake stayed safe as well.

Staring in the direction Jake and the madman had ridden, flashes of white sent fear slamming against her ribs.

Those white blurs weren’t coming from the headlamp on the bike. These flashes were low to the ground and moving up and down. Instantly, she realized she was watching the stark white of new shoes in the moonlight as the madman peddled after Jake.

Terror clogged her throat. She had faced fears of the dark by climbing in that culvert and survived. She wanted Jake to know that. He wouldn’t have a chance if the man following him got his way. She recalled the man’s strength and willingness to inflict pain.

Anger overshadowed her fright. In a split second, she ran for her bike and spent precious seconds steering out of the bushes, back to the trail. With an urgency fueled by the pumping of her heart, she raced to assist Jake.

Never mind that he had told her to wait for his return. She knew this madman’s intentions. She could feel the pain on her head from his rough grip when he tried to abduct her outside Grover’s.

She couldn’t let Jake face the danger alone.

***

Jake saw the light behind him. He had lost time trying to comfort Mia, but he had determination on his side. He would not give this pursuer a chance to hurt her. If he had to ride the twenty miles to Durham to lead the man away, he would.

Then a thought exploded in his head, almost causing his legs to stop moving. Had the man chasing him spotted Mia’s bicycle behind the bushes? Had he found Mia’s hiding place?

Looking back over his shoulder, Jake lost precious time trying to judge the location of the pursuer’s headlight. He could ride with the best cyclists around, but keeping one eye on the pursuer, to make sure he was following and not stopping for Mia, cut his lead.

He shouldn’t have left her. He should have hidden the bikes in the bushes and waited for the attacker to ride past. He wanted this to end. He was tired of trying to stay one-step ahead of a killer. If he and Mia had let the bad guy ride past, they would need to watch over their shoulders for who knows how long.

This way, he had hoped to lead the killer into a trap. He was convinced the man behind him was the murderer. What kind of trap could he set? The tobacco trail closed to the public at night. There wouldn’t be other riders to offer assistance and no park employees checking for safety. He was in this on his own.

He had to protect Mia.

He wanted a chance for more than just protecting Mia. He wanted to spend his future with her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and keep her safe.

Memories of failing his wife flashed through his head. What was he thinking? He’d left Mia in the dark, alone. The killer could find her, murder her and rob Jake of the second woman he loved.

He couldn’t face that loss, that sense of failure, again. Give him a battle, and he would fight, but losing Mia after finding hope, would kill him.

Without stopping to reconsider his decision, Jake wheeled the bicycle around and rode at top speed back the way he had come.

He had to check on Mia. If anything happened to her...

The shadowy figure came at him like a bat out of the sky. One second Jake was pedaling fast to reach Mia. The next second he landed flat of his back, winded and shaken by the collision of the two bikes.

He heard gravel scattering and the grinding noise of metal scrapping as the bicycles fell to the ground. He tried to catch his breath, but a huge dark shadow swooped down and landed on his chest.

Jake felt the blow to his chin the same instant he realized the shadowy figure seemed so large because the attacker was wearing a hood over his head.

Was this the same man who tried to abduct Mia? Another blow landed on his face and sent pain vibrating though his head. Spots danced in front of his eyes. He swung at the covered head, and connected with a blow. He heard a grunt from the man on top of him. Jake swung again, and rolled to the side.

But his assailant stayed on top of him like a bronco rider. Jake bucked and twisted to get free, but the man clung to his back. The attacker’s legs squeezed against his ribs. His weight pushed Jake’s body into the gravel. A hand grabbed the hair on the back of his head and slammed his face to the ground.

Jake tried to reach behind him for a grip on the man’s clothing and grasped thin air. Another blow slammed his face into the gravel, again. New worries exploded in his head with the pain.

If he couldn’t fight off this assailant, how could Mia? He had to protect her. The need to guard Mia gave him strength. He gave another twist and rolled away from the man clinging to his back, but his few seconds of freedom ended when another blow struck his chin.

Jake fell into nothingness. His last thought was the realization that he had lost Mia, too.

***

Mia heard the grunts before her eyes picked out the figures tangled in deep shadows beside the trail. Stumbling off the bike, she ran. Her wet jeans stuck to her legs, making it hard to move. But she had to help Jake.

Skittered to a halt, she saw the hooded figure take powerful swing at Jake’s head as the two men scuffled on the ground.

Oh, Jake
.

Jake was trapped under the slasher’s weight. She heard the crunching noise as Jake’s head hit the ground. Fury built inside her with the speed of a tornado. Frantic to help Jake, she searched the ground for some object to give her an advantage over the attacker.

A long shadow at the edge of the trail looked like a broken limb. Mia stared for a second, praying it wasn’t a snake. By the time her common sense told her it was too cold for snakes, she had a grip on the rough bark of the limb.

Even then, she paused, unaccustomed to inflicting bodily harm on another person, but the hooded figure on top of Jake had no qualms. His next blow to Jake’s face sounded like a crack of thunder.

Her fury returned. Fueled by her need to save Jake, she drew the limb back over her shoulder and swung the limb like a baseball bat as hard as she could. Like a slow motion movie, she saw her arm extend and move forward as the man’s fist landed another thudding blow to Jake’s face.

In the last instant before the limb hit, she saw Jake’s head fall back. His body wilted into the gravel. Then she noticed the stark white athletic shoe resting at Jake’s side and fear took over.

At the last second, she stumbled. The limb struck the slasher a glancing blow across the shoulders. He let out a yelp and slumped over. In a blink, Mia landed on his back.

The slasher twisted around and grabbed a handful of her hair. Pain sliced through her scalp as he jerked her up and wrapped a hand around her neck.

Mia twisted, kicked and punched out at him, but she couldn’t loosen his grip on her throat. Air left her lungs. Staring in the gargoyle features of the slasher’s shadowy face, Mia knew she might never see Jake again.

Her last thoughts were of never feeling his kisses again, or having a chance to tell him she really meant it when she’d said she loved him. Then darkness swallowed her.