Peggy Holloway - Judith McCain 04 - Jupiter Returns (8 page)

“You a social worker?” she asked and
, without waiting for my reply, she continued. “You need to check on those two. We ain’t seen them for over a week and they have something rotting in there.”

Now that I was at the top of the stairs, I could smell a smell I recognized.
It was a dead body. I had hoped to find her alive. I went back out to the porch and called the police and then Tracy. I was surprised when Tracy drove up, before the police, with John Shepherd in the car with her.

I ran out and hugged John, “Did you bring Rosa and Jennifer?”

“Yes I did, Judith. Wait til you see my beautiful daughter. You know she just had her second birthday?”

“John’s going to be working here in Houston until we catch Jupiter,” Tracy said.
“I just picked them up from the airport, took them home and then got your call, so I was close by. Who lives here, Judith?”

“Bettina’s mother.”

John and Tracy looked at each other, “Who is Bettina?” They both asked at the same time.

“The little girl you assigned me to work with, Tracy.
She told me her name yesterday and then today I was able to get information about her school and teacher. By the way, she’s in the second grade. She’s small for her age.”

John spoke up, “By the way, Judith
, I’m so sorry to hear about Ben. I loved that man. He was one decent human being.” John said as he wiped his eyes.

I got tears in my eyes and turned away.
Mixed in with my grief was guilt. I had strung Ben along for years before agreeing to marry him. We had so little time together and now he was gone.

As I was getting my emotions under control, the yard began to fill up with cars.
There were two city police cars, a Crown Vic that I assumed was a detective car, and a black station wagon with medical examiner written on the side.

Introductions were made all around and it was then that I realized that my body guard wasn’t around.
In fact I hadn’t seen him all day.

“Where’s Bert?” Tracy asked just as I was about to ask her.

“I haven’t seen him all day, come to think of it,” I said.

Tracy walked to the end of the porch around the corner while dialing her cell phone.
When she came back she was shaking her head. “The little shit called in sick but didn’t bother to call until a few minutes ago. I‘ve never liked him. He thinks he’s God’s gift to the human race. I’ll find someone else for you, Judith.”

“How’s Huck, by the way?”

“He’s hanging in there but it’s going to take him awhile. At least he’s out of intensive care.”

We talked while the
coroner, police, and CSI people did their jobs. They were coming in and out until finally they brought out the body, in a bag, on a stretcher. By then the media had shown up but couldn’t get past the yellow crime scene tape the police had strung across the yard. They had mikes and were shouting questions but no one paid them any attention.

The detective I had seen earlier came o
ut of the house with the medical examiner. The detective was tall and build so much like Ben, that seeing him from the back made my heart almost stop. The coroner left and the detective came over to talk to us. He looked nothing like Ben from the front. His hair was lighter blond than Mark’s and I noticed the blond hairs on back of his hands. He was wearing a gray suit, gray shirt and white tie.

Tracy introduc
ed herself and John and then me. “Judith is the one who reported the body.”

He shook our hands, “
Wade Russell,” he said. He turned to me. “How did you come to be here? Do you know this woman?”

“I’ve never met he
r.” I explained to him how I came to be there. He reminded me of John the way he seemed to hang on every word when he listened to someone.

When I finished, Tracy started filling him in on
Jupiter but he held up his hand. “I’ve been following this intriguing case since it began,” he said. “The FBI did an excellent job, by the way.”

He turned to me.
“So, Judith you think that Jupiter and you evil triplet have teamed up and they are responsible for killing this woman?”

I nodded and continued to tell him all I had learned from Bettina.

When I was finished Tracy said, “I was going to take John to see Huck. He’s finally awake. Would you and Judith like to join us?”

Wade looked from one of
us to the other and then nodded. “Let me tell my partner, and I’ll be right with you. And thanks for including me.”

Tracy drove and
I was glad. She got us there in record time. The first time I had ever ridden with her, I was terrified. Now I was used to her breaking the speed limit.

CHAPTER 13

Huck was wired up to monitors that beeped and thumped and made all kind of weird noises.
The doctor had told Tracy that the bullet had gone all the way through Huck’s body and gone through the right side of his colon. Another few inches and he would have been paralyzed. As it was, he had to have a partial colostomy.

He was in good spirits, “The good news is that the doctor said I would probably nev
er have a weight problem.

“Did you find Ben?” he asked looking from one of us to the other.
When he saw my face he said, “Jeez, Judith. I’m so sorry. Damn, I really liked that man, the nicest man I ever met.”

I rushed out into the hall, my emotions so raw and put my face against the wall.
I cried so hard, I was shaking. Tracy came out and put her arms around me and put her head on my shoulders and cried with me. Even though I knew these emotions were healthy, it hurt like hell.

The three men were talking football when we came back in, The H
ouston Oilers, love ya blue, and so on.

As soon we walked in, they fell silent.
“Do you remember what happened, Hutch?” Tracy asked. “Judith and I were walking down the beach and you were supposed to be keeping an eye out but you disappeared.”

“I’m sorry, Tracy,” he said.
“I usually don’t leave my post but you were some distance down the beach and I saw Jupiter and Christina walking along the seawall, laughing.

“They were going in the same direction and I followed them.
They started running and giggling trying to balance on the wall. I was amazed none of you saw each other. I couldn’t yell out and attract attention but since you were all going in the same direction I figured we would all meet up anyway.

“Then you both turned around and started back the other way just as Jupiter and Christina headed toward a beach house. I waved my arms but you two were deep in conversation and didn’t even look up.

“I made a stupid decision and kept following the other two. My plan was to look around and maybe look into some windows to see what I could see and then head back to you two.

“My plan backfired when
I got almost up to the house and Jupiter had gone out the back door, circled around and shot me in the back She must have made me the minute I started following her. Boy that bullet hurt like hell and I thought I was dead. I’m sorry I screwed up, agent Carr.”

Tracy patted his h
and, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Jupiter is smart. Remember, she used to be a police officer so she can probably spot a tail a mile off.”

He sighed, “Thanks, Tracy.
I guess that’s it. I didn’t even see her when she shot me. Next thing I know, I’m waking up here.”

CHAPTER 14

It was wonderful seeing John, Rosa, and Jennifer again.
I wish Ben could have been there but I believe in some way he was. John was right, Jennifer was adorable. She followed Brad around like he was her older brother. Brad was patient with her and tried to teach her the computer but she started pounding on the keys and Brad told his dad to take her away.

I enjoyed the time I spent in the kitchen that night with Mimi, Tracy
, and Rosa. We prepared a roasted duck dinner and told the men they would have to cook out on the grill the next night.

John wa
s here to help with the case, but I was glad he had brought the whole family.

Our house was so large
it still didn’t feel crowded. After dinner, Tracy called a meeting with John and me. Jennifer and Brad went upstairs with Jesse. Mimi and Rosa went to watch a runway show on TV showing the latest fashions. Mark went into his study to get some paperwork done.

We three went into the back
yard and sat at the picnic table.

“Well, Judith, it looks like you’re still on the case
, since your new client mother was a victim of Jupiter. I need to know if you can handle this part of it.”

“
Yes,I can do it Tracy. And besides, Bettina is beginning to trust me and to open up to me. It would be unfair to her to have another therapist at this point.”

She studied me, “Okay, it’s against my better judgment, but to be honest, we’re both emotionally involved.
I loved Ben too. I just hope we can keep a clear head.”

“I’ll make it part of my job to keep an eye on both of you for a
ny signs of loss of objectivity,” John said. “Actually, I’m emotionally involved too, since Ben was my dear friend. We’ll have to keep a watch on each other.”

We hugged and went back into the house.
I joined Mimi and Rosa in the den and watched the rest of the runway show with them. Mimi was making notes and I knew she was going to get some of those outfits.

“Did you
either one of you see anything you wanted,?” Mimi asked. “I’m taking orders.”

Rosa and I looked at each other and grinned and suddenly I burst into tears.
Grief seems to come in waves and spring up when least expected. But I was remembering my first trip to Houston.

Julia and I had been sixteen and had just found each other and
Mimi. We had gone to Houston for Christmas. Mimi had invited Mark and Tracy, Rosa and John, and Ben. Mimi had taken Rosa, Julia and I to the Galleria and tried to give us a roll of money to shop with.

This was before I had broken Ben’s heart, before I had strung him along, and used him.
The guilt was a large part of my grief and I needed to talk to Dr. Anna.

As soon as I started crying, Mimi turned off the TV and she and Rosa sat beside me and hugged me.

I told them about the memories I was having, “I think part of the problem is that I can’t forgive myself for the way I treated Ben. I thought I would have the rest of our lives to make it up to him.” I hugged both of them back and stood up, “I’m going to go up to my room and call Dr. Anna.”

“I guess I need a shoulder, Dr. Anna.”
I said when she answered the phone.

“It’s here for you, Judith” Dr. Anna said.
“I think you know what you need to do.”

“Yes, I need to forgive myself and move on, but I can’t”

“You will when you’re ready. In the meantime you’ll cope with the pain. Are you sleeping all right?”

“Off and on, I guess I get enough sleep.
I have a new case that I’m excited about and my patient has more trouble than I do. That has helped me a lot.”

“Judith, is there a psychiatrist there that you trust who can prescribe a temporary sleeping medication for you?”

“Yes, there’s Doctor Alvarez who bought my practice. I trusted him with my former patients so, yes, I trust him for meds.”

“Well, hang in there Judith.
I wish I could fix it so you wouldn’t have to go through this but you know I can’t. How’s Julia, by the way?”

“She’s going to marry her professor.
I haven’t met him yet, but from what Julia says, you would like him, Dr. Anna. He is an older man, but kind. He teaches art history at UNO. I haven’t told her about Jupiter escaping but she has the FBI following her. Hopefully she won’t see them.”

She laughed,
“I believe Julia is healthy and happy. I’m so glad for her. She deserves it. You both deserve happiness. God speed, Judith, good night.”

I felt so much better and put on my pajamas and brushed my teeth.
I was curled up in bed with the book I was reading, one by Annette Mackey. She was a new author I had found and I really liked reading her.

CHAPTER 15

The next thing I knew, someone was knocking on my door.
I was still propped up in bed. The lamp was still on and the book was on the floor.

I jumped up to answer the door and stepped on my eyeglasses.
“Damn,” I said as the glass cut my foot.

When I opened the door, John and Tracy stood there.
“We’re on our way to New Orleans, Judith. There was an attempt on Julia’s life last night. We believe Jupiter and Christina are over there. Julia will be flying in today to stay here while we investigate.”

Tracy glanced down at my foot, “You’d better put something on that before it gets infected.”
Before I could reply, they were gone.