“No, that would only be a cheap shot. He’d know I had something to do with it anyway. No, I gotta do this or find another option.” She took a deep breath. “But I could still use your help. Get me those financials. Maybe we can find something to chase while I’m looking for Harper. Can you put a rush on that?”
“Yeah, I’m on it.” Alexa stood and headed for the door, but turned to add, “You’re not alone in this, Jessie. And neither is Harper. We’re gonna find the bastard who’s really to blame.”
“Thanks, Alexa.” She forced a smile until the woman shut the door, then her smile faded.
Before she devised a scheme to track down Harper, she had a stop to make that was long overdue. Thinking about it brought on a rush of nausea. And her heart ramped up to the rhythm of her shallow breaths, the start of a panic attack she’d experienced far too many times whenever her past threatened to erode the makeshift foundation of her present.
But she had a feeling that facing Detective Max Jenkins alone would be important, an ordeal that fate had set in her path to try out her courage, taking it for a test drive. Confronting the demons of her childhood had always been her destiny—her way of dealing with it. In the back of her mind, she had always known that. Surviving her ordeal and being rescued had only been the beginning.
The real test was yet to come.
CHAPTER 19
Golden Palms Villa
Late afternoon
In the back of her mind, Jess always suspected this day would come—and with it, a flood of mixed emotions gripped her. Driving up to the nursing home gave her a sense that her life was about to come full circle. And even though the prospect of that scared the hell out of her, she felt on the verge of change.
“Max Jenkins.”
She said his name aloud, a mantra that grounded her in the reality she’d soon be looking into the man’s eyes—the detective who had saved her life, taking her from darkness into the light. Seth’s father. She knew that seeing Max again would dredge up the ugliness of her childhood, but in order to confront her fears, she had to see him—to make him real and fix his face in her memory.
She owed him that much and more.
And for the first time, she felt strong enough to do it. This wasn’t about locating Seth. It was more about confronting her demons. Jess didn’t want to believe in fate. The concept was not only depressing, but she couldn’t fathom living in a world that had condemned her to the fate she had experienced as a once-innocent child. Yet how Seth’s life had crossed hers then and now had haunted her thoughts ever since she’d first learned of his connection to her past.
“Another puzzler from Harperworld.” She tried to smile but couldn’t summon one.
She parked her vehicle on the street facing the property, choosing to walk the rest of the way and work out the kinks in her sore muscles. The sunny afternoon carried a nice breeze, downright cheery. But she had serious doubts the good cheer would rub off.
“It’s now or never, Beckett.” She headed for the front door.
Located at the end of a street, the nursing home was set off the road, with a well-manicured front lawn and a wide, curved drive that led to the main entrance. A four-story building of red brick with a white column portico. Toward the back, a wall gave the residents privacy when they ventured outdoors onto the grounds. And a mix of commercial properties and older residences lined the street. The setting was modest but real homey. She’d seen fancier places. And if Anthony Salvatore had had more say in where Max lived, his accommodations might have been different. But she got the distinct impression that Seth had picked this place for his father.
Double glass doors listed the hours the facility would be open for guests. She had called ahead to make sure when she arrived that visiting hours would be under way. Stepping inside, she was greeted by a friendly face behind a reception desk. The young woman chose to ignore the bruises and cuts on her face, treating them as if they were invisible, a gesture Jess appreciated.
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I’m looking for Max Jenkins. Can you tell me which room he’s in?”
“I’ll need you to sign in please.” While the woman hit a few keystrokes to pull up the information on her computer, Jess signed in under a fake name, not wanting to leave a trace she’d been to the place. But she took her time discreetly looking for Seth on the roster of guests. It didn’t take long to find his name, and she recognized his handwriting. He’d last visited late on a Friday—the week before his life went into the crapper—nearly two weeks ago.
“Mr. Jenkins is on the second floor. Number 204.” The woman smiled and pointed down the hall. “The elevators are to your right. And you’ll find signs upstairs to help you locate his room. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Actually, I’d like to speak to someone about Uncle Max. One of his nurses maybe. I live out of town, and this is my first visit. I’d like to get an update.”
“Then you’ll want to speak to Bernice Withers. She’s the second-floor nurse on duty. Her station is by the elevators. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks.”
When Jess got to the second floor, she found the nurses’ station, but no one was there. That left her only one option. She took a deep breath and went looking for room 204, Max’s room. When she got there, his room was empty, but that didn’t stop her from looking around.
She wandered in and checked the view from his window, noticing his room faced the front entrance, a convenient situation for the stakeout she had planned. Even though seeing Max had been a huge part of why she’d come, the other reason for her visit left her feeling guilty. Jess had come to track down his son. And no amount of justifications or sugarcoating would change that fact.
“Excuse me. Can I help you?” A woman’s voice. Jess turned to see a nurse at the door.
The nurse wore a name tag, and Jess smiled when she saw it. Bernice had found her—a sturdy woman in white uniform and sensible shoes. She looked to be in her forties, with short brown hair streaked with gray. And she had a no-nonsense expression with the twinkle of good humor in her blue eyes—a face easy to trust.
“Yes, I’ve come to see Uncle Max. Is he here? I just got to town and wanted to see him before I headed out again.”
“I’m Bernice, honey. What’s your name?”
“I’m Michelle. Hi.”
“Michelle, come with me, dear. I took him to the dayroom. I’ll show you where it is.”
Jess accompanied the woman down a corridor toward a large sunny room at the end of the hallway. She took advantage of their time together by asking Bernice about Harper.
“I was hoping to see his son Seth while I was here. Has he been in lately?” She took the risk that this woman hadn’t seen Harper’s booking photo in the paper, but she’d know soon enough.
“You know, he missed last week, and that’s not like him. He comes every Friday, the last visiting hours of the day.” She smiled. “I told him once that his father isn’t aware of his punctuality, but he always said he wanted Max to count on him. Something about a promise to his father that he wanted to keep. I never had kids, but if I knew mine would turn out like that boy, I might’ve reconsidered.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
Jess wondered how badly Seth wanted to keep the promise he’d made to his father. Getting arrested for murder had mucked up his last visit. And the cops seeking Harper as a person of interest in a second killing had “train wreck” written all over this week’s visit. And black humor aside, Harper would probably avoid daytime hours as too big a risk. To play it safe, she’d made up her mind to stake out the nursing home at night for as long as it took.
One thing she knew to count on was Harper’s loyalty. He’d told her once never to question it, that some things about him never changed. Of course at the time he was talking about his peculiar devotion to all things Jerry Springer, but she knew he’d intended to make a point, and she totally got it.
People who mattered to Harper got his full attention—the legacy of a father’s unintentional neglect.
