Night Is Darkest (29 page)

“I love you. Both of you. Forever.”

Lacey allowed her eyes to close while they continued to worship her and their union. As she drifted off she heard them kiss each other over her prone body. Then she slid into peaceful sleep filled with dreams of a bright future.

***

Lacey took a final look around the heaven on earth they’d discovered in the midst of the hell her life had become. She sighed, choking back a sob.

“We’ll come back, little one.” Tyler guided her hand to his heart.

“Someday.” Mason nodded. “I promise.”

The correctional facility had granted their request to speak with Jackson. The official sign off had come through less than an hour ago. She checked her watch. Two thirty. Maybe if she stalled a tiny bit longer, they’d miss their four o’clock appointment, though the guys had insisted they could make it in time.

“What if we go all the way there only to find out the email was totally unrelated to Rob’s murder?” Her gut ached at her cowardice but she hadn’t quite wrapped her logical side around the surreal developments of the day before.

“That could be, Lacey. But my instincts say this jerk is involved.” Mason refused to budge from his position. “Even if he isn’t, I still want to set him straight on a few things.”

They’d packed the truck and checked for any items they may have forgotten in the bathroom or under the bed. She couldn’t generate even one more excuse to linger so she watched the quaint cabin until it disappeared behind a copse of trees.

Tyler patted her hand when she sighed.

During the drive, Mason peppered them with potential scenarios while he developed the lines of questioning he intended to use to uncover the truth. Ty devised suggestions she would never have imagined like, “Did you take out a contract on Rob Daughtry?” Things that made her blood run cold to consider. She tried to ignore their strategizing.

The insistent chirp of Mason’s phone put an end to that delusion. He hit the speakerphone button to initiate hands-free operation. “What news?”

“Hey. It’s JRad. You’re not there yet are you?”

“No. We’re about ten minutes out. Why?”

“I finally scored the records from the phone company. We traced Lacey’s caller. The woman attempted to make contact one hundred thirty-seven times over five days. Mike and James headed over to check out the address on file.” The efficient cop seemed unusually rattled. A huge sigh crackled through the pathetic output of the phone.

“What is it, Jeremy?” she whispered.

“Oh, crap. Am I on speaker?”

Tyler didn’t give her a chance to answer. He radiated tension from beside her. “Spit it out. What’d they find?”

“Another body. The woman, Irene Stolkholm, bled out on her living room floor.” He hesitated again.

“What aren’t you telling us, JRad?”

“You sure you want Lacey to hear this?” His skeptical tone filled her with dread.

“Go ahead, Jeremy. I’ll find out sooner or later. Do it quick.”

It irritated her that he didn’t continue until Mason said, “She has a right to know.”

“The vic was stabbed to death. The angle is awkward but looks self-inflicted. Her prints are on the knife handle, a single wound to the abdomen. The blade matches our general guess for the murder weapon. The forensics lab is taking it from here.”

“Oh, God.” She buried her face in her hands.

“I’m so sorry, Lacey. The woman left a note. Said she made a terrible mistake. That she felt guilty and deserved to suffer for what she did. It…it took her a while to die.”

Her stomach cramped until she feared she might be sick. The men exchanged rapid- fire questions she couldn’t understand through the roar in her ears. It took her a few minutes to realize Mason had pulled to the side of the road.

Then their conversation penetrated her shock. “Did the woman match the description you got from the food prep guy at the hospital?”

“No. Her hair was platinum blonde.” Jeremy’s disappointment rang through.

“She could have worn a wig.” Lacey wanted it to have been random, to have been threatened by someone who could no longer hurt her.

“Possible. But we haven’t found any sign of one in her apartment. And she’s nowhere near the build the barista indicated. He’d have to be way off. From her appearance, and the enhancement work she’d had done, I’m guessing she used to strip at the club near the alley…”

He cut off just short of mentioning Rob’s murder.

“If we don’t get going now, we’re going to miss our appointment.” Tyler broke the tense silence.

“We’re still going? I thought…this woman… Jackson couldn’t have done this. He was in jail.” She scrambled to sort out the chaos in her mind.

“We’re almost there, we might as well pay him a visit. I can’t shake this feeling that we’re missing something, doll.”

Tyler broke his pensive silence. “One thing doesn’t make sense to me. When this woman called Lacey, she kept saying she wanted to get her side of the story. Remember, that’s why Lacey thought she was a reporter. What’s that all about? Mason’s right. We don’t have all the pieces yet. I think we better keep digging.”

Lacey wished she’d worn a heavier sweater. Tyler put his arm around her shoulders as Mason guided the vehicle back onto the road.

“We shouldn’t be longer than an hour, JRad. Call us if you get anything more by then.” He ended the call.

She nestled into Ty’s secure embrace to soak up his warmth as they crested the top of a ridge. In the valley below them sat a huge, ugly, cement compound ringed with sniper towers and miles of barbed wire fences. The gaping black windows seemed hostile. The dull walls flamed red in the last rays of the sun dipping below the mountains.

“You don’t have to go in with us if you don’t want to.” He peeled her fingers from where she had clamped them on his bruised ribs.

“I’m sorry, Ty. Did I hurt you?”

“Nah, I’m fine.” His grimace called him a liar.

“It hurts us more to know you’re frightened of this bastard.” Mason’s white knuckles glowed in the dusk. “If you’re not up to this, you don’t have to come. Ty can stay out here with you while I run in and chat.”

“I want to go. If he had something to do with Rob’s murder, or the accident, I want to know. I
need
to know why. Did I cause all this?” Shame tinged her response. Of course, Ty caught it.

“You’re not responsible for what some whack job does, little one.”

“I know but I made some spectacularly awful choices. Then, for a while, I forgot all about this mess. Even about Rob.”

“You’ve been through so much in the past week. You needed a break from the stress. We’re going to get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

“I just can’t untangle it all. I don’t know anyone named Irene, I’m certain of it.”

“Let’s just take things one step at a time, doll. We’re here. We’ll ask some questions, do a little fishing and see if we catch anything worth keeping.”

Mason turned into the penitentiary entrance, rolling to a stop at the guard shack. He retrieved his badge from his coat pocket then flashed the shield at the burly man on duty. “I’m Officer Clark of the OSPD here to speak with prisoner number 34625202. Chief Leigh made the arrangements.”

After verifying their identities and clearance, the linebacker gestured with his pump action shotgun. “Follow the main road to the visitor entrance on the left. Good luck.”

“Thanks, man.”

Mason tucked the four-by-four into a narrow space, disengaged his seatbelt then turned to face her. He cupped her cheek in his palm. “We won’t think less of you if you don’t want to face him.”

“I’m good. Let’s just get it over with already.”

He leaned in for a tender kiss then whispered, “So brave.”

“Easy when he’s behind bars. He will be, won’t he?”

“He’ll be cuffed but I want you to let me and Ty take the lead in case the moron tries to make a move. He’s never going to touch you again. I swear it.”

This time, she kissed him. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

Chapter Twenty

Mason took point while Tyler linked hands with Lacey then stayed glued to her side. Funny, never having been in a prison, she had no idea what to expect. Other than the double locking doors like they used at her jeweler—or to keep butterflies in the local conservatory—and an impressive metal detector, there weren’t a lot of differences from a typical police station. The same dingy tiles clashed with snot colored paint made more horrid by the florescent lighting beating over the entire design disaster.

They strode to the front desk then explained their purpose once more. Uncomfortable plastic chairs full of static punished her sore ass while they waited fifteen minutes for the warden to meet them in the lobby.

“Ms. Daughtry. Officers.” He shook their hands with brusque formality. “I’m very sorry to hear of your brother’s passing, ma’am. It’s always a shame when we lose one of our finest.”

She hated the way he acted like he’d known Rob. Something about the man curdled her stomach. When Tyler wedged himself between them, relief washed over her.

“Well, let me escort you to our fine specimen straight away then.” Affronted, the official spun on his scuffed heel, a giant key ring jingling at his hip with each step they took into the bowels of the facility.

Mason added his hand to the base of her spine, steering her along their route. Their guide approached a sheet of tinted glass Lacey recognized as one way. Behind it, grinning like mad, sat Jackson. The neon orange of his jumpsuit shone through the smoky window. His greasy hair, shaggy beard and cuffed hands made him appear even more sinister than she recalled.

Her knees went weak. Mason had her secured against his side in a flash. “I’ll have the warden escort you back to the lobby.”

“No! I’ll be fine.” The thought of being alone with that creepy man almost seemed worse. “I just need a second out here to catch my breath first.”

After her heart stopped pounding, she nodded at the men. “I’m ready.”

“You’re sure?” Tyler tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Positive.”

“You heard the lady. Buzz us in, please.” Mason addressed the attendant.

He entered in the lead with Lacey in the middle. They’d agreed to stand while questioning Jackson both to seem more intimidating and to allow for an easy escape. Just in case. When Jackson caught sight of her, he beamed. His once handsome face still carried an iota of charisma, which made him even more dangerous in her book. He lounged, relaxed, in the sterile holding pen as though he were a sultan occupying a harem divan.

“Ah, lovely Lacey. You’re looking sweet as ever.” His tongue made a full circuit of his cracked lips. “Did you miss me?”

“Quit fucking around, asshole.” Mason wouldn’t stand for any bullshit.

With her men by her side, the terror she had expected never materialized. Instead, disgust crawled across her skin. Beneath the morass of conflicting emotions ran a surreal kind of pity. Though he’d raced past crazy a long, long way back, he’d possessed immense charm once. Busy studying him, she left the initial questions to the guys. Let them blow off some of the steam pressurizing their machismo.

“Why did you email Lacey last week, dirtbag?” Mason jumped straight into the heart of the matter.

“Haven’t you heard?” He winked at her. “I’m up for parole soon, baby. Being in this
center
has reformed me. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for what I did.”

She refused to acknowledge his false apology. Even worse, she kicked the part of her that wanted to believe a core of decency could exist in his blackened soul.

“Honey, I’ve seen the error of my ways. I promise I’ll be good if they let me out.”

“Don’t fuck with her, Jackson,” Mason growled.

The prisoner continued to ignore everyone else present and speak only to her. A decent imitation of a remorseful wince exacerbated the recent grooves in his cheeks. “I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for what I did…”

“Who else wants you in lockup? Someone set a virus to make sure Lacey never received your message. That’s a lot of trouble to go to for no good reason.” Tyler joined in the fray.

A glimmer of unease betrayed Jackson’s smooth response. “I’m sure I don’t know anything about that. It’s easy to pick up some nasty code. Maybe it was coincidence?”

“And I suppose you don’t know anything about the murder of her brother, Rob, who was also a police officer. Do you?” Mason slammed his hands onto the surface of the desk as he leaned on stiff braced arms to stare the criminal straight in the eye at point-blank range. He could smell a lie a million miles away.

“I did read about the incident in the paper a couple days back. A tragedy, I’m sure.” The slick retort flipped off his tongue too fast to be natural. He’d practiced the response to the obvious question but he had no preparation for the next attack.

“Then tell us… What do you know of a brunette about five-seven, one-forty, who tried to drug Lacey into running off the road and killing herself?” Mason described the grainy likeness Jeremy had sifted from the hospital surveillance cameras.