Chapter 9
“What? Why?”
Sitting with her mouth opening and closing like a landed fish had to be unattractive, but Dallas was floored by Eddie’s suggestion of her being a thirteen-year fixation for some crazy chick. A racking of her brain turned up no suspects who would hate her enough to kill her family.
“Because she loved you.”
Eddie sounded sad. Jesus! He knew who the batshit crazy broad was! Memories came flooding back, one on top of the other. His sister’s confession one night when they’d been partying at a bonfire stood out in her mind.
“Charlotte?”
He nodded and stared at the hands fisted in his lap. “I can’t prove it. But I believe it’s her.”
Heart hammering ninety miles per hour, Dallas sought comfort from Gael’s concerned gaze. He was her lover, her very best friend, and she’d put him in the crosshairs of some love-obsessed woman out to wreck havoc on her life and the life of anyone she cared about.
“I’m going to be sick!”
Vomit hung in the back of her throat as Gael rushed with her to the bathroom. She emptied the contents of her stomach twice before sitting back with a sob.
“Breathe, D.J. Breathe, mi sol.”
The soothing quality of his voice had the proper effect. She calmed fairly quickly. Standing, she braced against him and hobbled back to the living room and to within a foot of Eddie’s wary face. The full force of her fury was in place.
“Did you know all along? Did you?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to me! Don’t give me your bullshit, Eddie,” she warned, poking a finger against his chest. “I deserve the truth. After all I’ve lost, I deserve the fucking truth!”
“I swear to God, Dallas. I didn’t know,” he said raggedly. “I still don’t. I told you, it’s only a feeling.”
“You have to have some basis for your belief,” Gael inserted, not letting Eddie off the hook either.
“Only what Paulie told me Paul Sr. said. He swears his father is remembering it correctly.”
“So it’s possible it isn’t even Charlotte?” Dallas threw her hands up and sat heavily on the sofa behind her. “You come here and stir up the past, without any concrete proof I might add, and expect me to… to… what? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with this information.”
“I’m trying to protect you, Dallas!” Eddie shouted, unable to keep cool any longer under the weight of her tirade. “But once again, you’re too goddammed stubborn to listen.”
“Easy, friend. You don’t want to lose those pearly whites.” Gael’s accented words were at direct odds with his casual deliverance of the warning.
She put up a hand to keep Gael seated next to her. “What do you mean ‘once again’? When was I ‘too goddammed stubborn to listen’ the first time? What am I missing here, Eddie?”
Confusion lit his eyes, and he shook his head back and forth as if he were about to deny saying the words. He calmed and shook his head ruefully. “I didn’t mean that. I only meant based on when we were kids. You were always quick to do what you wanted without thinking of the consequences.”
Unease snaked along her spine. Something was off, but she’d be damned if she could put her finger on it. A quick glance in Gael’s direction showed his frown. He sensed it, too.
“Gael, would you be a dear and get me my crutches? I’m too keyed up to sit.”
He retrieved her crutches and helped her to stand.
“Would you like a drink?” she asked her unwanted guest as she worked her way toward the kitchen.
“No. I’m fine,” he said impatiently. “Dallas, I think you need to send your friend away so we can discuss this.”
She paused to give Eddie a look of disbelief.
“I’m not leaving.” The finality in Gael’s tone left no doubt as to where he stood on the issue.
She silently confessed to being relieved. Being alone with Eddie was out of the question. Too much time had passed between when they were a couple and now. The naked want in his eyes made her edgy and uncomfortable.
Her cell rang, making her jump. Captain Stewart.
“Excuse me, I need to take this.” She turned her back on the room and rested against the dining room bar. “Hello?”
“Jennings, I’m glad I got ahold of you. I’ve been reviewing the report from your apartment fire. I think you’re on to something here.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I’ve got the fire inspector, Charlie Butler, here with me now. There are some things that don’t add up in the original report. I made some phone calls, and it seems there was only one real suspect at the time. No one could prove he was responsible so nothing ever came of it.”
The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “He?”
“An Eddie Baker. Apparently, he was a teenager who’s family lived in the building at the time. His sister’s remains were found in the stairwell where the fire started,” piped in Charlie.
She tried not to hyperventilate when she heard the news. His sister’s not hers!
“Are you sure?” How she kept her voice calm was anyone’s guess.
“Like I said, it could never be proven,” Captain Stewart said.
“What was the reasoning? Why did they believe it was… that person?”
“Talk to me, Jennings. What’s going on?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Not that old. Maybe ten. Maybe eight.” She tried to make the code sound casual, but still give him a clue as to being in the presence of Eddie.
“Shit. He’s with you now, isn’t he? Jennings, are you at your place?” In an aside to someone else, he ordered them to get her address and get assistance rolling her way. “Try to laugh or give me some sign you’re home.”
She laughed softly.
“Close enough. Hang tight, kiddo. Try to keep him calm. Can you do that?”
“Of course,” she said casually, casting a look over her shoulder and putting on a smile which she hoped didn’t look patently false.
The smile dropped from her face once she took a good look at Eddie’s. He’d become eerily still, and the light in his eyes bordered on madness. Perhaps she was seeing things and attributing emotions to him he might not be experiencing, but her unease was ratcheting up quite a few notches.
“Is anyone else there with you and Eddie, Jennings?”
“Yes, Lieutenant. I’d be happy to donate to your daughter’s fundraiser. Put me down for three. Hold on a sec… Gael, L.T.’s daughter is selling candies for a fundraiser. You want to sign up for any?”
“Good girl, Jennings. It’s you, Gael, and Eddie Baker, correct?”
“Put Gael down for three as well. Yes, sir. I’m happy to do my part.”
“Hang tight. Help is on the way. Do you feel threatened?”
“Maybe. I’ll have to get back to you on the popcorn. You know how much I love popcorn for my suspense movies.”
“We’re not going to be able to prolong this call without raising suspicion. Can you leave the line open?”
“Absolutely. Thank you.”
“Can you tell if he’s armed?”
“No, I’m not sure when I’ll be off medical leave with this foot of mine.”
“Okay, leave the line open so we can listen. I’m going to put my side on mute so you won’t be able to hear.”
“That’s great, sir! Tell your wife I said hello. And thanks for the call. Whenever she can run over that casserole would be great.”
Dallas made a production of hanging up the phone, but was sure not to disconnect. She set the cell facedown to hide the fact it was still a live call. After, she made her way into the kitchen for the water she’d been after earlier. Because the knife block was partially hidden by a support column, she was able to palm a blade and slip it into the pouch on her hoodie. She slid a smaller one up into the sleeve of her sweatshirt, careful to keep the sharp edge away from her skin.
As she made her way back into the living room, she noted the combative attitude of both men. Perhaps she should provoke Gael into leaving. She doubted it would take much, maybe just an overt amount of flirting with Eddie. If Gael left, he’d be out of harm’s way. Sure, she would be left with a potential psycho by herself, but she could at least save the man she loved.
“So, Eddie. You never told me what you do for a living?” She modulated her tone to be pleasant and friendly. Time to put her plan into effect.
“Eddie? Eddie’s not here, Dallas,” he answered in a high-pitched voice, accompanying it with a giggle. “I’m Charlotte.”
Stunned, she had no immediate response. Dallas and Gael were in Fuckedville, and Eddie’s new personality was the Mayor.