Stanley Buchan looked at her, and for a few moments, Jen thought she saw understanding and agreement there. There was nothing else she could have done, and Buchan knew it.
But the moment passed. This was the real world, and in the real world, what was right wasn’t always as important as what was expedient. And messy lawsuits were simply not expedient for Stanley Buchan’s life plan. Not, Jen thought, that I blame him. They’re not expedient for mine either.
“Get out of here, Dillon. Finish your report and go home. The law department will be getting with you.”
He turned his back, picked up the phone, and started punching buttons. Jen stared at his back for a few seconds, then got up.
Trish was getting up from the desk as Jen returned to her report. She’d just been summoned to Buchan’s office.
“Bad?” she said.
“The usual,” Jen said, a weak smile on her face.
Trish squeezed her arm. “Don’t let him get to you,” she said. “You did what you had to do.”
Jen nodded. Suddenly she was tired, very tired, and what she wanted more than anything else in the world was to call Will Anderson and ask him to hold her. Tight. She sat down at her desk and stared at the telephone, debating with herself.
No, she finally decided, not tonight. She was down and defenseless. It wouldn’t take much for her to slip into the role of the helpless little woman who needed big strong arms around her. While she knew Will’s arms were definitely big and strong, and he would be more than glad to put them around her, she couldn’t let herself start their relationship—if they were going to have one—that way. As much as she wanted to be held by him, she was going to go home like a big girl, lock the door, and lose herself in sleep. Maybe, if she were lucky, when she woke she would find it all had been nothing more than a bad dream.
But before she did that, she had another stop to make. Like most cops who had once worked the street, she had a few friends who worked night shift at the hospital’s emergency room. She was pretty sure they’d be willing to draw her blood and have it tested for alcohol and drugs, legal and otherwise. If it was never needed, no one had to know, but if the lawsuit Buchan saw coming did materialize—well, it couldn’t hurt to be prepared.
CHAPTER 31
In the east, he saw the faintest hint of the dawn that wasn’t far from breaking. The birds were rustling in the trees, mumbling chirps to one another as they stirred with the coming day. So far no lights had gone on in any of the houses around him, but he knew it wouldn’t be long. Until it was full light, though, no one could see him, concealed as he was in the bushes.
He should have been tired. The wait had been longer than he’d thought it would be when he went out earlier. Father had told him that things didn’t always go according to plan, and tonight was proof of that. He’d considered canceling and getting her another night, but he knew he couldn’t wait. He’d been looking forward to this hunt for too long, and the anticipation kept him from getting sleepy. Instead, his nerves were stretched tight and his senses attuned to the slightest stimulation. He suspected she would be the best so far. After all, weren’t good things worth waiting for?
It was almost time. He’d been watching when she’d come out and walked toward her car. He’d sped up and made it to her neighborhood well ahead of her, but she would be arriving any minute now. He went over his plan again. Wait till she had parked and locked her car, and when she opened the door, move fast. She was more dangerous than the others. He would need to strike quickly and incapacitate her so she could not fight back.
Headlights struck the wall of the elementary school across the street as a car turned the corner and came toward his location. He ducked back into the shadow of the bushes and held his breath. It was her.
She pulled to the curb and got out, carefully checking to make sure her doors were locked. She straightened and tugged at her short skirt to adjust it. He felt himself becoming aroused as he looked at her exposed thighs and hated himself for it. He would show her tonight. He would show all of them that they couldn’t tease him with their bodies.
He waited in the shadows until she had her key in the lock of her front door, then he moved swiftly and silently. Just as she turned the key and began to push open the door, he struck, hitting her on the head with his heavy metal flashlight. She let out a small yelp of pain and staggered into the foyer.
He moved inside quickly, slamming the front door shut behind him. She had left a light burning in the living room, and he kept a careful watch on her. He had been careful not to put all his strength behind the blow. She had not gone down but seemed only stunned, holding onto the hall table and shaking her head. He grabbed her purse where he knew she probably kept her gun and tossed it on the floor behind him.
As he reached for her hands, she regained some control. There was a heavy brass candlestick on the table. She grabbed it and swung it clumsily at his head, her balance still off. He ducked, at the same time slamming the flashlight hard into her face. She fell like a helpless rag doll, unconscious, on the floor. He looked
