Serial Love: Saints Protection & Investigation (17 page)

Jack heard the
sob just before she disconnected. He threw his phone across the room, not caring if it shattered. “Goddamnit!” he yelled to the empty room. Hanging his head in frustration, he gritted his teeth until he thought they would crack.
She’s wrong. I’m not selfish! I’m thinking of her and only her. She deserves more than a man that works all the time. In a world that’s fucked up, dark, and full of terrors she can’t even imagine.

The vision of her smile filled his mind as he stared out into the black night. Her laughter. Soft touch. Bringing dessert to him and his men. No other woman had ever tried to fit into his life and it had made it so easy in the past to realize that his life would not mesh with theirs.
But she was different. Giving. Ready to accept me for who I am…and what I do.
Would it have worked? No fuckin’ way to know, but at least she had been willing to try.

Shaking his head, he forced his mind to think of the reasons why he was right.
Better to end it now before it hurts more. Better than to let something grow and then find out it can’t work.

But staring out his window into the blackness, her smiling face still filled his thoughts…taunting him with what he had just destroyed.

Stalking across the room he tossed the unfinished beer into the trash. Walking back to the liquor cabinet, he pulled out a whiskey bottle. Grabbing a glass he took them both to the living room and sat facing the windows again. Pouring a drink, he decided that getting shitfaced was the only way to make this nightmare disappear.

T
wo days later,
Bethany was working in the flower beds just outside of the lodge. They did not need weeding, but she refused to have any down time. Two days of little sleep, little food, and a lot of work was taking its toll on her. Gram was staying in the lodge most of the time, not interested in walking around but preferring to putter around inside the house.

On her knees in the dirt, she could feel the urge to cry once more, but fought it off.
I was fine before Jack Bryant and I’ll be fine now!

Just then, a car pulled into the front of the lodge and she looked up in surprise as her parents waved excitedly at her.

“Mom! Dad!” she cried, jumping up to greet them as they alighted from their car. “You guys didn’t tell me you were coming!”

Her mother moved toward her, arms extended. Blonde hair like Bethany’s, now with a touch of gray, was pulled back away from her face with a clip. Her face was an older version of her daughter’s, still smooth and beautiful. Dressed for comfort, she was in neat jeans and a short sleeve pink blouse.

Her father followed his wife and as Bethany noted, he was also dressed in jeans and a polo, looking ready to pile up on one of the rocking chairs on the front porch or down by the dock.

Hugging them both, she exclaimed, “Why didn’t you call?” Grabbing the overnight case from her mom, she continued, “Come on in. Gram will be glad to see you.” She halted suddenly and her face sobered. “Well, the truth is, she might not recognize you…but she’ll be happy for the company anyway.”

She noticed her parents shared a look, but she dismissed it in her excitement to have them there.

“Gram?” she called out, walking into the lodge’s main room. “We have visitors.”

Her dad looked over at his mother and noticed the change since he had seen her two months ago. “Mom?” he said, walking over to where she sat looking up with a smile. He kissed her cheek and she said, “You’ll like it here. We got nice cabins.”

Ed looked at his wife quickly and saw her sad expression. She walked over, greeting her mother-in-law with a kiss as well.

“Ann, it’s so good to see you,” Susan added. She blinked back the tears, knowing how hard this was for her husband, and then turned to peer at her daughter. Shocked that she had not noticed it in her eagerness to arrive, she realized Bethany looked…devastated.

Just then, Sally entered the lodge and greeted Ed and Susan. She glanced at Bethany and asked, “You want me to take Ann up and fix her an early lunch?”

Bethany offered her a heartfelt smile of gratitude. The two of them had shared several tearful conversations about Jack in the past two days and it was clear Sally knew that she needed to talk to her parents. Confide in them. Draw strength from them.

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

They watched as Sally assisted Gram upstairs, then heard her puttering in the kitchen while talking softly to Ann.

“We need to talk,” her father began, but before he could say anything else, Susan interrupted.

“I think we need to listen first,” she said, looking at her daughter as only a mother does. “You don’t look happy and I want to know why.”

The three settled in the comfortable chairs in front of the lodge’s fireplace as they had done on so many trips to Mountville to visit her grandparents over the years.

“So what’s going on that’s put such a sad look in your eye, baby?” her mom asked. “And I know it’s not all about Gram.”

Shrugging while shaking her head, Bethany said, “A tale as old as time, mom.”

Her father looked confused but wisely kept his mouth shut as he looked to his wife for guidance. Susan nodded in understanding and gently ordered, “Tell us about him.”

“He owns the property next to us and we met under unusual circumstances when Gram wandered away one day. He owns some kind of a security business,” she added, her nose scrunched in thought. “Kind of secret, with government contracts and…well anyway, he was very sweet and even set Gram up with a tracker bracelet so she could be tracked if she wandered again.”

“That’s right, I remember you telling us about that,” her father commented.

“And…” her mother prodded.

“We…well I can’t say we started seeing each other really…but we were together some and both had feelings for each other so we decided to follow through on them and see where they went. I guess I went overboard and…” her voice trailed off sadly.

“You were already falling,” her mother finished for her.

“That sounds so lame,” Bethany confessed. “I’m not some teenager who falls in love at the drop of a hat.” Her parents gifted her with the time to finish her story without butting in.

“But, yeah,” she admitted. “My heart was definitely already involved. He just didn’t feel the same.”

“What happened?” her mother asked.

“He had to leave for business, and I know it was bad. He couldn’t tell me much, but I’m pretty sure that he was working on those college murders.”

“We’ve been reading about those and you’ve no idea how glad we are that you’re no longer in college!” her father added.

“I know his job is stressful and he sees horrible things. I just…I just foolishly allowed myself to believe him when he told me that I meant something to him.”

Pulling herself up straight in her chair, she said, “But I’ve got responsibilities and a life to live so I’m not going to pine over him anymore.” She knew the words were lies as soon as they left her mouth and one look at her mother told her that she knew they were lies also.

But like a good mom, she played along. “Well, just make sure to take care of yourself and don’t work too hard.”

Offering them what she hoped was a reassuring smile, she agreed. Forcing her mind out of her own troubles, she looked at them speculatively. “Okay, guys, enough about me. We talked last week and you never mentioned flying out here for a visit. What’s the real reason behind this impromptu trip?”

Her parents shared a look again, further cementing her idea that something was happening. Cocking her head to the side, she waited.

Sighing deeply, her father said, “We wanted to be here to talk to you about Gram. There are some things in the works, but we need your input as well.”

“Okaaaay,” she said slowly, uneasy from the sound of his words.

“There’s an opening at a memory care facility near where we live in Arizona—”

“No!” Bethany shouted. “You can’t take her that far away. It makes no sense. She’s fine here until an opening comes here.” Jumping up, she paced the room, her mind working furiously. “You’re not even permanent residents of Arizona. What happens when you transfer colleges?”

“Bethany, sit down, please,” her mother begged. “We’ve made no decision yet. That’s why we’re here—to get your input.”

Chastised, she sat back down, putting her head in her hands. “I’m sorry. What other decision is there?”

“Well,” her father started again, “there is an opening now in the facility that’s close to here.”

At that, Bethany’s head snapped up. “That’s perfect. That’ll be great. Gram will get the safe care she needs and still be close to me.” Looking at her parents’ doubtful faces, she asked, “So what’s to discuss?”

“Honey, what about you? Your needs? Your career? We don’t want you locked into staying here just because Gram is nearby. You may want to move back to Richland and continue with your job there.”

Bethany sat, stunned, realizing she had not considered the possibility of leaving Mountville…and the neighbor next door…and returning to the city to live. She looked around the inside of the old lodge. The one that constantly needed work, compared to her apartment in the city with modern conveniences and was near shopping centers and restaurants. She glanced down at her dirty knees and fingernails, compared to her professional work clothes and weekly manicures. She thought of the loneliness of her social life here compared to the bustling city with co-workers, friends, bars, museums, and concerts…and the opportunity to meet someone who did want to spend time with her.

But she could not escape the glaring reality—this was what she wanted. Her gaze lifted to her parents as she confessed, “I want Gram near here. And I want to stay at Mountville. This is my life now.”

Her father started to protest, but Susan’s hand on his arm stopped him. She considered her daughter carefully and said, “I want you to sleep on it, sweetheart. The decision needs to be considered thoughtfully. This place is part of your history, but it doesn’t have to be your future. Gram will be taken care of, no matter what. You need to think about you.”

Nodding, she agreed as they rose from their seats for a family hug. Tears hit the back of her eyes as she blinked to keep them at bay. Too many changes in just a few days had her on edge. Pulling back, she plastered a bright smile and said, “Let’s go have lunch with Gram.”

*

He fingered the
wig and mustache carefully before placing them back in the box. Glancing down, he lined them up—the blond, next to the black, next to the brown.
Which one next? Which one will it be?
He pondered purchasing another one, even considered one with long hair.
Perhaps pulled back in a ponytail. Young women like the wild, youthful look. Yes, maybe a new one is needed. But not now.
The urge was gone, once more replaced with calm. Breathing deeply, he smiled as he closed the suitcase, placing it back in his hiding place.

He had several hiding places—all carefully planned. He knew he would not get caught even though the newspapers were beginning to talk. Shaking his head, he thought
Don’t they get it? I’m taking care of the sluts. That needs to be done.

Hearing noises from inside of his house, he locked the garage and made his way back into his kitchen. Smiling.

*

Jack once more
stood with his coffee mug in his hand, hoping the effects of drinking himself into a stupor two nights ago were no longer noticeable. His men were due soon and he was regretting his stupid decision…all of his stupid decisions.

Friday night into Saturday, he thought of all of the reasons his decision to not start a relationship with Bethany made sense. His life was too unpredictable. Too full of violence. Too hard to separate the business with the personal. The more he had tried to convince himself he was right, the more he drank. He had been right at the beginning—she deserved the white-picket fence. Kids, dog, and a husband that did not see death and destruction when he went to work.

By Saturday night, when he should have been picking up the beautiful woman for their date, the one who had told him she had a perfect dress for him, he sat, sobering alone in his house. All of the reasons from the night before were less clear.