Jill held back more tears. “You’re gone, Steve. It’s over!”
“It’s over when I say it’s over,” he said, hovering close to her face. “When I make your life so miserable, you beg me to leave. And I will, Jill. Until then, this is the way it is. It’s not over, honeybuns.… Things are just starting to warm up.”
“Get out,” she said, and pulled away from him.
He cocked his fist, but she didn’t even flinch. Not this time. Not even a blink. Steve moved fast, as though he was going to strike, and Jill just held her ground. “Get out, Steve,” she seethed again.
The blood seemed to drain from Steve’s face. “My pleasure,” he said, backing away. He picked up another peach from the basket and rubbed it against his shirt. He tossed a last smirk toward the messy stove.
“Be sure and save the leftovers.”
As soon as she heard the door close downstairs, Jill broke into tears. That was it! She didn’t know if she should call Claire or Lindsay. There was something she had to do first. She pulled the Yellow Pages out of a kitchen cabinet and paged through them, frantically dialing the first number she found.
Her hand was trembling, but this time there was no turning back. Answer, someone… please!
“Thank God,” she said when a voice finally did.
“Safe-More Locksmiths …”
“You do emergencies?” Jill asked, resolve mixed with her tears. “I need someone over here now.”
Chapter 53
My message light was flashing.
It was after one in the morning when I finally got back to my apartment.
I threw my suit jacket over a chair and pulled off my sweater, hitting the PLAYBACK button of the answering machine.
5:28. Jamie, Martha’s vet. She’s ready to be picked up in the morning.
7:05. Jacobi, just checking in.
7:16. Jill. A quiver of nerves in her voice. “I need to talk to you, Lindsay. I tried your cell phone, but it didn’t answer. Call me, whenever you get home.”
11:15. Jill again. “Lindsay? Call me as soon as you get home. I’m up.”
Something had happened. I punched in her number and she answered on the second ring. “It’s me. I was in Portland. Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” she said. A pause. “I threw Steve out tonight.”
I almost dropped the phone on the floor. “You really did it?”
“This time’s for keeps. We’re done, Lindsay.”
“Oh, Jill …” I thought of her carrying this all night, waiting for me to come home. “What did he do?”
“I don’t want to go into it right now,” she said, “other than it won’t be happening anymore. I threw him out, Lindsay. I changed the locks.”
“You locked him out? Wow! So where is he now?”
Jill coughed out a laugh. “I don’t have any idea. He went out about seven and when he came back, about eleven-thirty, I heard him pounding on the door outside. It would have been worth the past ten years of bullshit just to see the expression on his face when his key didn’t fit. He’ll swing by tomorrow to get his stuff.”
“Are you alone? Have you called anyone?”
“No,” she answered. “I was waiting for you. My buddy.”
“I’m gonna come over,” I said.
“No,” she said, “I just took something. I want to go to sleep. I have to be in court tomorrow.”
“I’m proud of you, Jilly.”
“I’m proud of me, too. You’re not going to mind if I need a little hand-holding over the next few weeks?”
“No hand I’d rather hold. I’m giving you a big hug, honey. Get some sleep. And here’s some advice from a cop: Keep that door locked.”
I hung up the phone. It was going on two in the morning, but I didn’t care. I wanted to call Claire or Cindy and tell them the news.
Jill finally booted the asshole out!
Chapter 54
“Hey, lieutenant,” Cappy Thomas shouted as I walked in the following morning. “Leeza Gibbons on the line. Entertainment Tonight? Wants to know if you can do lunch.”
I had made the mistake of calling Jacobi from the plane last night, and maybe gave a few too many details about the day. Some snickers rippled around the squad room.
I took some hot water back to my desk. A light was flashing on my phone. I punched it in.
“Listen, LT”—Jacobi’s voice—“me and the missus were thinking about heading over to the Big Island sometime in July. Any chance you can snag the G-3?”
I punched off the line, spooning a pouch of Red Zinger into my mug.
“Hey, LT, phone!” Cappy yelled again.
This time I picked it up and snapped, “Look, I didn’t sleep with him, I didn’t ask for the jet, and while you bozos were scratching your balls back here, I actually moved the homicide case along.” “I guess that’ll have to do as an update.” Cindy laughed. “Oh God …” I lowered my head, letting the blood drain
from my face. “Believe it or not, I didn’t call to bust your chops. I’ve got news.”
“I’ve got news, too,” I said, thinking of Jill. “Yours first.” Cindy’s tone was urgent, so I didn’t think she was talking about Jill.
“Your fax should be ringing any second.”
Just then Brenda knocked on my window, and handed me Cindy’s transmittal. Another e-mail. “This was on my computer when I got to work this
morning,” Cindy said. I was jolted back to reality. This time the sending address
was [email protected]. The message was only one line: That wasn’t us in
Portland. It was signed, August Spies.
Chapter 55
“I’ve got to take this upstairs,” I said, shooting out of my chair, almost pulling the phone out of the wall. I was halfway up to Tracchio’s office before I realized I forgot to tell Cindy about Jill. Things were going too fast now.
“He’s behind closed doors,” his secretary warned. “You’d better wait.”
“This can’t wait,” I said, and pushed the door open. Tracchio was used to my barging in.
He was facing me, seated at his conference table. He was flanked by two others with their backs to me. One was Tom Roach, the local FBI liaison.
I almost fell when I saw that the other was Molinari.
I felt as if I had hit a wall, bouncing off and vibrating like in the Roadrunner cartoons.
“Soon enough, Lieutenant,” Molinari said, rising.
“Yeah, that was what you said. I thought you had pressing matters in Portland.”
“I did. They’re taken care of now. And we have a killer to catch down here, don’t we?”
Tracchio said, “We were just about to call you, Lindsay. The deputy director informed me how well you
