Tough Customer

wrong, and that I wasn't the only one who thought so. I told him that he was creepy and pathetic, and that I couldn't stomach the sight of him.'

She rubbed her eyes, wishing she could rub out the memory, too. 'I must have struck a chord. Several, in fact. Because he flipped out. Right before my eyes, he morphed into the Oren Starks rendition of Mr. Hyde. Outside a movie theater, I'd never witnessed such a dramatic transformation.

'His face became congested and red with fury like I'd never seen before, Mother. He shouted, 'You can't do this to me! I don't deserve this!' He threw the carton of food against my front door. It split open, splattered. He called me horrible names. Said awful, obscene things. He said it was no wonder that I didn't return his affection when Ben Lofland was fucking me.'

She shuddered. 'I can't even bring myself to repeat all he said, and you don't want to hear it. He ended with a chilling vow to make me sorry for rejecting him. In language more elaborate than that, but that was the gist of it.

'I went inside and bolted the door behind me. I had my cell phone in my hand ready to call 911--that's how afraid I was--but he drove away. I went into the bathroom and threw up. When I was done and was washing my face, I looked into the mirror above the sink.'

She paused, then said slowly, 'That's when I saw what I'd become. I barely recognized myself, Mother. I was as much a monster as Oren. I had been cruel, I'd said terrible things to him, I'd been horrible to you, the person I love and respect more than anyone in my life. And why? Because I was upset over a hand-slapping I'd received at work.'

She turned to face Caroline. 'I wanted to succeed at all costs. Ambition had consumed me. I'd lost all perspective. I was jeopardizing my relationships with co-workers, with friends, with you.'

Dashing tears off her cheeks, she continued. 'Oren made me fear for my life that day. But I was just as scared of the person I'd become. I stayed up that entire night, with all the lights in the house on, afraid he would come back, also afraid that I would change my mind about doing what I had decided must be done. By morning I was packed. I came here, hoping that I would find some balance in my life, find the me that had somehow got lost.'

She returned to the side of the bed and sat down beside her mother, who placed her hand between Berry's shoulder blades and began to massage the spot. 'I'm proud of you.'

Berry looked at her and sputtered a laugh. '

Proud? After what I've just told you?'

'It's hard to be that brutally honest with oneself, and even harder to act on a self-realization.' Caroline kissed her brow. 'You called Oren on Thursday afternoon to apologize for the things you'd said to him that afternoon?'

'More or less. I also told him that Ben and I were about to put the finishing touches on the campaign he'd been working on when he was dismissed. It had turned out well. He could be proud of it.'

'How did he react to all this?'

'Neutrally. I was actually surprised. He didn't issue dire threats, but he didn't say, 'Let bygones be bygones,' either. When I finished, he said 'Okay,' and hung up. I dusted my hands. I thought we were square. That is, until he ripped open the shower curtain.'

'Surely you didn't tell him that you and Ben would be working here on Friday.'

'Of course not. But I'm almost certain he's been watching my house, the office. He's smart enough to have figured out that I've been working from another location. He must have followed Ben when he left his house Friday morning to come here.

'Maybe Oren was sitting all day in his car near the road where they found those tire tracks, biding his time, waiting until dark, waiting until he thought he would catch us in bed together.'

She raised her hands to her forehead and massaged it, pressing her fingertips hard against her scalp. 'What haunts me, Mother, what I fear, is that, by making restitution with Oren, I unwittingly set Ben up to get shot.'

'Berry? Sweetheart, wake up.'

Berry turned onto her back, moaning for having been shaken out of a deep slumber. She pushed strands of hair off her face and opened her eyes. Her mother, wearing only a short cotton nightgown, was bending over her.

'What time is it?'

'Five-fifteen.'

Berry groaned. The lengthy self-castigating conversation with her mother had left her too restless to sleep. After hours of tossing and turning, she'd relented and taken a nonprescription sleeping aid. Now, after less than three hours' sleep, her head was muzzy from the medication, her eyes dry and gritty.

But her mother's tone, her entire aspect, conveyed urgency. 'Get up and get dressed. Dodge just called. He said we should come as soon as possible.'

Berry threw off the covers. 'Come where?'

'To the sheriff's office.'

'Have they arrested Oren?'

'Dodge said he would explain when we got there.' Caroline was already on her way out of the bedroom. 'I'll meet you downstairs.'

Berry put on a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt, brushed her teeth, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and, in under five minutes, met her mother at the back door. Caroline set the alarm as they left the house and told Berry that they would take her car and that she would drive.

When they reached the courthouse, they were surprised to find a deputy sheriff obviously waiting for them. He waved Caroline into a reserved parking space and touched the brim of his uniform hat as they hurriedly alighted.

'Ladies. I'm Deputy Stevens. Ski said for me to bring y'all right up.'

He led them to an entrance on the ground level that was reserved for personnel only. He punched in a security code on a keypad. The door unlocked with a loud metallic click. He shepherded them inside, then into an elevator, also designated for official use. It whisked them up to the third floor.

The elevator opened directly into a large squad room. The first person they saw was Dodge, who apparently had also been on the lookout for them.

He wasted no time on greetings. 'Hated to drag you out of bed. But Ski thought you should hear this, thought you,' he said, addressing Berry specifically, 'might be able to help.'

'Help how? With what?'

Dodge scowled. 'Oren Starks has killed a kid.'

CHAPTER 12

BEFORE BERRY AND CAROLINE COULD ABSORB DODGE'S shocking statement, their attention was drawn toward the sound of loud and uncontrollable sobbing. A middle-aged couple were seated on a bench against the wall. A younger man wearing a clerical collar was hunkered in front of them, speaking softly, his arms embracing their shoulders in a group hug.

Out of respect, Dodge spoke softly, but his voice vibrated with barely contained fury. 'Mr. and Mrs. Coldare. Their sixteen-year-old son, their only child, was shot and killed a few hours ago. By Oren Starks.'

Dizziness and nausea swept over Berry. She swayed. Dodge caught her arm.