Seams of Destruction (13 page)

“Do you like living in Los Angeles?”

“I’m about ready for a change,” Mitch said. “My brother has made me an offer to become his partner in his consulting business and I’m seriously considering it. However, I do own several pieces of rental property in LA and if I move to Boulder, I would either have to sell them or find a good property manager.”

“I wish you the best of luck,” Dave said. “I think Michelle and I are going to call it a night. But we’ll see you tomorrow at the wedding.”

“Sounds good.”

Mitch looked around and realized that Matt, Amanda, her parents, Jade, and he were the only ones left. By unspoken consent, they all exited the room and walked to the entrance of the restaurant where the valet brought up their cars.

The next day, Jade went to Amanda’s bedroom to see her wedding dress. It was a simple white dress with gathers of fabric running from the hips to the waist, a V neckline, short lacey sleeves, and a long train which would flow out behind her as she walked.

After Jade had exclaimed over it, she went back to her bedroom and put on the green dress she was wearing to the wedding, which was to take place at the Community church in Boulder. Amanda was going to change into her gown after they reached the church.

When Jade had finished with her hair and makeup, she went out into the living room where Matt and Mitch were waiting in their black tuxedos.

“My, don’t you two look handsome,” she teased.

They made no comment. Only smiled.

“Matt, could you come and carry the bag with my dress in it,” Amanda called and he hurried to do as she asked.

Two hundred people were expected to be present at the wedding, most of them friends of Amanda and her parents, who were longtime residents of Boulder. Her father and mother were professors at the University. After the ceremony, a reception would be held at the St. Regis hotel.

It was a beautiful ceremony and Jade couldn’t help but feel a trifle envious. She would like to have a similar wedding, but she really didn’t know that many people in LA. Since her parents lived in Denver and that was where she had grown up, it would be more logical for her to be married in Denver. She doubted if Mitch knew many people besides the one he worked with on the police force. It wasn’t that easy to collect a lot of friends in the city.

Jade thought how handsome Mitch looked standing by his brother and her eyes brimmed with tears as Amanda and Matt said their vows. It reminded her of the vows she and Mitch had made in Verona. She wondered if they were still there. She knew Mitch had thought she was merely teasing when she had written hers. She wondered if she would ever be able to tell him how serious she had been.

That was only going to happen when she was no longer a suspect in Reannan’s murder. She hoped by the time they returned to LA they would be. Although it would have been nice if they had been dropped before the trip, so she could have shared the good news with her parents.

Jade looked at Mitch again and she saw he was looking at her. When their eyes met, he gave her a smile, and almost missed the cue to give Matt the rings. She couldn’t help but be amused as he fumbled in his pocket. She could tell he was slightly embarrassed. That was probably a new feeling for him. He always seemed to be so sure of himself.

The ceremony was over and the wedding party walked down the aisle. The audience followed and a few single women gathered at the foot of the steps waiting for Amanda to throw her bouquet. Jade joined the group and when Amanda turned her back to the crowd and threw it over her one shoulder, it sailed right at Jade and she had to raise her hands and catch it in order to keep it from hitting her in the face.

Everyone cheered.

It’s a sign.

She turned to look at Mitch who was staring at her, a strange look on his face.

Chapter 13

As they walked into Jade’s apartment after arriving back from the trip to Colorado, Jade went immediately to her bedroom with her two suitcases. Mitch hurried to the kitchen where he opened the drawer and took out Jade’s phone and laid it on the counter.

Coming into the kitchen, Jade said, “Oh, there’s my phone. I couldn’t find it when we were in Colorado. Fortunately, I didn’t really need it since Giovanni knew I was out of town.”

“Jade, there’s something I need to tell you,” Mitch said.

“Okay, but let me listen to my messages first. I want to make sure I haven’t missed an important call.”

“What I have to say is more important.”

But she had already placed the phone to her ear and was listening intently. He watched as he saw her begin to frown. She turned to stare at him as she continued to listen.

Laying the phone back down on the counter, she said angrily, “You knew since before we went to Colorado the charges against me had been dropped. Why didn’t you tell me? You knew how worried and scared I have been about being on trial and possibly going to prison.”

“I can explain.”

“Don’t bother. I trusted you. I thought I loved you.”

Mitch was surprised at her last words. He knew she had seemed fond of him and appeared to enjoy being with him, but he had no idea of her true feelings. He had certainly blown it.

“Jade, please let me explain.”

“Get out,” she said, raising her voice and glaring at him. “I never want to see you again. If you cared at all about me, you would have told me.”

Mitch knew there was no sense in trying to reason with her in the mood she was in. Sighing, he picked up his bag and left. As he rode down in the elevator, he told himself the three days of reprieve in Colorado hadn’t been worth it. He would probably never see her again except in a magazine.

He couldn’t stand the thought. For the first time in his life he had found someone he wanted to make a commitment to, and through his own stupidity he had lost his chance. Why hadn’t he just told her the charges had been dropped, in spite of what the Chief had said? That was what his brother had thought he should do. Then he could have asked her to go with him to Colorado. At the worst, she would have said ‘no.’

Looking back, he realized it was highly unlikely that she would have turned down the trip to Colorado. He knew it had been a year since she had seen her parents and she had been excited about meeting his brother, Matt, and attending his wedding.

How could he have been so stupid?

Despondently, he drove to his house and went inside. He had the rest of the day to kill before he reported back in for duty the next morning. He hoped the Chief didn’t find out what he had done or he would be in for one hell of a reprimand.

It was a cool day and he decided he would go for a run. That always seem to trigger some endorphins that made him feel better able to handle a problem. He changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and went out on the street where he did stretching exercises before he began to run.

He ran the five miles he had previously marked out, ending back at his house. As he got into the shower and stood under the spray, he wondered if he should take Matt up on his offer of moving to Colorado and becoming a partner in his consulting business. He had been surprised when his brother had made the offer. Matt had said he was starting to get more business than he could handle and he couldn’t think of anyone he would rather have as a partner.

Thinking about it, he thought it might be a good idea. He didn’t know if he could handle the reminders he would constantly have in LA of the great times he had had with Jade. The jogging, fixing meals together, the trip to Disneyland, and the shopping.

On the other hand, having just spent three days with her in Colorado, he would have reminders there also. He finally came to the conclusion, he would just have to play it by ear. He turned off the shower and reached for a towel.

Jade was furious. She couldn’t believe Mitch hadn’t told her before they left for Colorado that all charges against her had been dropped. She had told him many times how afraid she was of being convicted and going to prison. She thought he had feelings for her.

Hadn’t he cared enough to relieve her stress by letting her know she was no longer a suspect?

She had certainly been mistaken about him, she thought, as she picked up the phone to dial her mother.

“Mom,” she said when she heard her mother’s voice on the other end of the line. “Good news! They’re not going to file murder charges against me.”

“Oh, darling, that’s so wonderful. Did they catch the real murderer?”

“Not yet, but they know I couldn’t have done it because whoever did it was left-handed. It’s only a matter of days now until they arrest the real murderer.”

“I’ll bet Mitch was happy. We could tell he’s crazy about you. The way he looked at you sometimes gave me goose bumps.”

“I need to talk to you about that.”

“Yes, dear. What is it? Has Mitch asked you to marry him?”

“No. I wouldn’t marry him if he were the last person on earth.”

“But I thought you liked him.”

“Actually, I thought I was in love with him. That was why I was so anxious for you and Dad to meet him. But not anymore. Wait until you hear what he did.”

Jade could tell her mother was waiting expectantly on the other end of the line.

“Mitch knew before we left for Colorado that all charges had been dropped against me and he didn’t tell me. It was only when we got back and I found my cell phone with a message on it from my attorney.”

Her mother remained silent.

“I hate him. He knew how stressed I was whenever I thought about going through a trial and perhaps ending up in prison for something I didn’t do. I never want to see him again.”

“It seems strange that he didn’t tell you. Maybe he didn’t know either.”

“He knew. The Chief of Police had told him before we left for Colorado.”

“Maybe he was waiting for your attorney to tell you. You said you forgot your cell phone when you came to Colorado. Maybe he had been told not to say anything, to let your attorney tell you.”

“Oh, Mom, you don’t really believe that. But even if that is the case, if he really loved me as I thought he did, he should have told me anyway.”

“And get in trouble with his boss if he had been instructed not to say anything. Maybe even get himself fired.”

“I doubt the Chief of Police would have him let him go over something like that. He’s been with that department a lot of years, so obviously the Chief likes him.”

“Well, he must have had a reason. Didn’t he try to explain?”

“I never gave him a chance. I just wanted him out of my apartment and out of my life. I never want to see him again,” she said for the second time.

“I’m so sorry. Your father and I really liked him and we thought he would be so good for you after what happened with David.”

“Please, don’t ever mention his name to me again. Either his
or
David’s.”

“But darling, you can’t compare Mitch’s actions with that of David’s.”

Her mother had a point, but right now she was too angry to be reasonable.

“Jordan, I really think you should let Mitch explain why he didn’t tell you. He may have had a very good reason.”

“I’ll think about it. Right now, I’m just too upset.”

“Let me know what you find out after you talk to him,” her mother said.

“Mom, I have to go. I have another call.”

Her mother told her goodbye and she punched into the new call.

“This is Jade.”

“Jade, this is Bennett.”

It was the pattern maker from Sorrento’s.

“Hi, Bennett. How are you? Keeping busy with the new line?”

“You better believe it. These latest styles are not the easiest to make patterns for. They were never this hard when Reannan was involved. In fact, I’m going to need some help and I wondered if you might be available.”

“You know, I’m no longer working for Sorrento’s, don’t you?”

“I didn’t know that. When did this happen?”

“My contract with Sorrento’s is up today and I told Giovanni I didn’t want to renew it.”

“Damn. I was hoping we could get together.”

“I’m happy to do anything I can to help,” Jade said.

“Could I come out to your apartment and work with you?”

“Wouldn’t it be better for me to come into the warehouse?”

“Ordinarily it would, but I’ve been tearing my hair out here and I think a change of scenery might be just what I need. Danilo is driving me crazy. I made the mistake of telling him I was having a problem with one of the new styles and he thinks he can help me.”

Jade smiled at the suggestion. Danilo might be a good inspector but he knew nothing about pattern making.

“Well, give me an hour. I just got in from a trip and I need to shower and straighten up here so we’ll have some place to work.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll grab some take-out and we can eat some lunch before we start. Have any food preferences?”

“Get me a green salad and some fruit.”

After Bennett hung up the phone, she decided she had time for a run. She really needed one in order to get her head straightened out about Mitch.

Could her mother be right? Had he had a good reason for not telling her?

If that were the case, she was going to feel really bad for the way she had responded to the voice mail from her attorney.

She changed into her jogging clothes and went down in the elevator and out on the street. After doing her warm-up exercises she ran down to the beach and began to jog close to the water line where the sand was packed down from recent waves.

She was amazed at how much better she started to feel after a few minutes of running. When she had run as far along the coastline as she usually did, she turned around and went back the way she had come.

A short time later, she entered her apartment and went immediately into the bathroom to shower. She glanced at her watch. Her hour would soon be up. It was getting close to lunch time and she had to admit she was hungry. She hoped nothing held Bennett up.

She showered and after drying off with a towel, she pulled on a robe. She fastened her freshly shampooed hair back into a pony tail and went to her closet to pick out something to wear. She decided on a pair of jeans and a light weight knit top. When she was dressed, she slipped on a pair of sandals and went to straighten up the dining and living room.

A book was laying on the coffee table in front of the sofa and Jade saw it was the one that Mitch had bought to read on the plane when they flew home from Italy. She picked it up. She could use the book as an excuse to call him and when he came over to get it, she would apologize to him.

The doorbell rang and Jade went to open the door. Bennett stood in the hallway with a bag of food, a roll of white fabric, and his briefcase.

“Just in time,” Jade said.

“In time for what?” Bennett asked.

“In time to feed me. I went out for a run after you called and now I’m ravenous.”

He stepped into the apartment and looked around.

“Nice place you have here. Great view,” he said.

“I’ve always enjoyed it. One of the reasons I bought this place was the exercise room and the swimming pool down on the garage level. I needed something besides jogging to stay in shape.”

“Well, you’re certainly in shape, I’ll give you that,” Bennett said, giving her an admiring glance.

Jade took the bag of food from him and set the dishes out on the dining room table.

“Umm, this looks good. Can I get you something to drink with yours?”

“What are you offering?”

“Bottled water, beer, Coke, wine.”

“I’ll take a Coke.”

She walked to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water for her and a can of Coke for Bennett. She popped the lid on the coke and reached into the cupboard for a glass.

“Do you want this over ice?” she asked.

“No, and you don’t need to pour it into a glass. I’ll take it straight from the can.”

She put the glass back and went to the table with their drinks.

“Did you have a good trip to Italy?” Bennett asked.

“Yes, I had a wonderful time.”

“So the cop went with you?”

How had he known that?

“Yes.”

“Was there a reason for that?”

“You know I was suspected of Reannan’s murder. I was considered a flight risk. If he hadn’t gone with me, I would have been unable to go to the fashion show.”

“That must have been pretty horrifying when you found Reannan’s dead body.”

“It was. I’m so thankful I’m no longer a suspect.”

He looked up from his lunch, suddenly alert.

“When did that happen?”

“Just a few days ago. After reading the autopsy report, they decided I couldn’t have done it. The person who did it was left-handed. I’m right-handed.”

“How could they tell that?”

“They can tell by the way the throat was cut. It was cut right to left so that meant a left-handed person did it.”

“Interesting,” Bennett mused as he took a bite of his food.

“Running makes me thirsty so I’m going to need another bottle of water. Can I get you anything else? Another coke?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Jade stood and went to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she leaned over to reach for the water. As she did so, she froze.

Bennett had used his left hand when eating.

After his shower, Mitch decided he had better go to the police department immediately. It wasn’t a good idea to leave Jade unprotected with a killer on the loose. Besides, who was the person who had been following them everywhere they went. Was he the killer?