Mercy

  He hung up as she walked in. “Detectives Underwood and Basham picked up Cameron Lynch. He was in the mood to talk,” he added. “First thing he said after they read him his rights was that he wasn’t going to take the fall for murdering John’s wife. He called it a mercy killing.”

  “And that made it okay?” she asked, shaking her head.

  “I don’t know what kind of spin he’s putting on it,” Theo said.

  “The bottom line is that he was motivated by money.”

  He reached out and pulled her into his side and held her around her waist. He needed to have her close, to touch her. There was a moment upstairs when he had thought he was going to lose her, and he knew he would never ever forget that terror.

  He kissed her on the side of her neck. A nurse was standing at the counter watching. He didn’t care, and from the way Michelle leaned into him, he knew she didn’t care either.

  Noah walked into the ER then.

  “What have you got all over your face?” Michelle asked.

  He went to the mirror above the sink to look. “Plaster chips and dust I guess,” he said as he turned the water on and grabbed a towel.

  Theo told him about Cameron while Noah washed his face. “John’s already moved the money out of the Cayman account. He did it with his computer.”

  “Where’d he transfer it?” Noah asked.

  “Don’t know yet, but Underwood has people working on it. It’s an interesting group,” he commented.

  “The Sowing Club? What’s interesting about four deviants?” Noah asked. He wiped his face dry with the towel and dropped it into the sink. Then he turned around, folded his arms across his chest, and waited for Theo to explain.

  “When John first set the account up, he told his friends that all four of them would have to go to the bank to get any money out. It was a safeguard, he’d explained, but that obviously wasn’t the truth. He played them from the beginning, and Dallas and Preston and Cameron were fools to keep on trusting him after he manipulated them into helping hire the hit on his wife.”

  “Why did he need their cooperation?”

  “Dallas was the connection to Monk,” Theo said. “I’m not sure why he wanted to involve the other two. They had all the bases covered. John worked the banking end. He was a lawyer and a VP in the trust department. Cameron used his brokerage firm to screw clients out of their retirement money, Dallas was police, and Preston worked in the D.A.’s office and took care of any problems with the law.

  “Dallas was actually telling the truth about the ghost. She did keep a file on him and all his past deeds, just to cover herself. Underwood has the file now. He said Monk killed a young girl a while back and that the father hired him to do the job. There’s enough evidence to arrest the father, and they’ve got detectives picking him up now.”

  “I hope he rots in prison,” Michelle said.

  Theo nodded. “Underwood thinks Monk has flair.” He lifted the ice pack and put it on the table behind him.

  “What did he mean by ‘flair’?” Michelle asked. She saw Theo grimace as he lifted his leg. She grabbed the ice pack and put it back on his knee.

  “He always places a rose near the victim, usually on the bed, because he prefers killing them at night.”

  “So Detective Harris wasn’t lying about that,” Michelle said.

  “She was smart,” Theo said. “She stuck close to the truth as much as possible so she wouldn’t get tripped up on lies.”

  “How did you know Harris was one of them?” Michelle asked.

  “When Noah was in New Orleans, I had him check her out,” he said. “I thought it was odd that her captain wouldn’t tell Noah anything about the case she was working on. Noah’s used to dealing with antagonistic detectives who don’t want the FBI working with them, so he assumed the captain was being evasive on purpose. I thought maybe the captain didn’t know what Harris was up to, but I didn’t take that any further. I just filed it away and moved on.”

  “I should have taken the time to talk to some of the other detectives,” Noah said. “To find out how they felt about working with her.”

  “They probably would have closed ranks on you,” Theo said.

  “I still don’t understand how you put it together, Theo,” Michelle said.

  “Catherine told me,” he said. “She was a smart woman, so I finally realized why she’d made it so complicated. She didn’t have the attorney give the papers to the police because she knew one of the members of the Sowing Club was a detective. She gave the second backup copy to Rosa because she knew the housekeeper would never go to the police. I honestly don’t know what she thought Rosa would do, though. Maybe mail the files . . . I don’t know.”

  He yawned then and said, “Anyway, I’d narrowed it down to Preston and Dallas, knew one of them was a policeman, and then Harris showed up wearing a jacket when it was blistering hot and muggy outside. When she stepped into the hall and turned, her back was to me and I saw her reach behind and unsnap the strap on her gun, but she kept the other hand in her pocket. I figured she was carrying extra firepower.”

  “I sure would like to know where John Russell is hiding,” Noah said.

  Theo nodded. “We’ll get him eventually.” Then he yawned. “Let’s go home.”

  “I’m ready,” she agreed.

  “Noah’s going to sleep in your guest room,” he said. “Just as a precaution.”

  “You don’t think that John or Monk —”

  He didn’t let her finish. “No, but I’ll sleep easier, and so will you.”

  They headed for the exit. Theo looped his arm around Michelle’s shoulder as they walked along.

  “I’ve got to stop at the motel and pick up some things,” Noah said. “How’s that kid doing, Mike? Give me some good news.”

  “He’s going to be fine,” she answered. “It wasn’t as bad as it looked.”

  “Are you still chafed you let Monk get away?” Theo asked.

  “I couldn’t be in two places at once,” he replied. “I knew I had to get back and save your sorry ass, and the police had the stairwells blocked off. I figured they’d get him.”

  “I saved your sorry ass,” Theo corrected.

  “The hell you did. Where are my car keys?”

  “I left them in the car.”

  “Noah, how do you know you shot Monk?” she asked. “Did you see him fall?”

  “No, he didn’t go down,” he explained. “But there was blood on the door and on the stairs. I either got him in the hip or the side. He went up to the roof, crossed over, then down the fire escape.” He turned to leave. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Could you wait a minute and make sure I can get the pickup started?” Michelle asked.

  She was glad she’d asked, because Noah had to hot-wire it to get it going. Theo insisted on driving and didn’t seem to have any trouble using his right leg to work the clutch.

  “I’m going to sleep until noon,” she said.

  “You can’t. You’ve got to get up and go fishing.”

  Michelle groaned. “I’m staying home.”

  “You’ve got to go with me. You’re my partner.”

  “We don’t have a boat, remember? Mine’s buried in the shrubs somewhere, and we wouldn’t have a chance of winning without one. The best fishing spots are deep in the swamp.”

  “Your dad made John Paul loan us one of his. It’s already docked behind The Swan.”

  She didn’t like hearing that. “I want to stay in bed, but I’ll leave the decision to you. You’re company, after all.” She moved closer, put her hand on his thigh, and tried to sound sultry when she whispered,

  “I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “That’s a tough one,” he drawled. “Let’s see. I could either get up before dawn — and I really like doing that — and sit in a boat all day long worrying about snakes falling on my head while I’m sweating through my clothes and slapping at mosquitoes, or . . .”

  “Yes?” she said, smili
ng now.

  “I could spend the day in bed fooling around with a beautiful, naked lady. Yeah, that’s a tough one, all right.”

  “Who said anything about me being naked?”

  He gave her a look that made her heart race. “Honey, that’s a given.”

  “Oh, boy.”

  “You’re blushing. After everything we’ve —”

  She put her hand over his mouth. “I remember what we did.”

  She suddenly realized he’d made a wrong turn. “Where are you going?”

  “McDonald’s. I’m starving.”

  “We have plenty of food at home.”

  “A cheeseburger will hold me until we get home.”

  “Okay, that’s fine with me.”

  A minute later he understood why she was suddenly being so cooperative. She knew McDonald’s was closed. By the time they got home, he was in too much of a hurry to get her undressed to think about food. She wanted to shower, and that was fine with him, as long as he could get in the shower with her.

  They fell into bed together and made love again. He pressed her down into the mattress, held her hands prisoner above her head, and told her all the loving words he needed to say and she needed to hear.

  Then it was her turn. “Say it,” he whispered.

  She wanted to be practical. “When you get home and get back into your routine —”

  “Say it,” he demanded.

  “You’ll look back on this as a . . . fling.”

  “Are we going to have our first fight?”

  “No, I’m just . . .”

  “Say it.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. “We’ve only known each other . . .”

  “Say it.”

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  He was so pleased he kissed her; then he rolled onto his side and pulled her up against him. She cried all over his chest. He knew why.

  She thought he would return to Boston and go on with his life . . . without her.

  He would have gotten angry if he hadn’t remembered that the woman he loved didn’t know squat about men. He waited until she was finished crying and was hiccupping. Stroking her back, he said, “I dated Rebecca for a year before she moved in. We lived together for another year before we got married, and you know what?”

  She lifted her head so she could see his face. “What?”

  “I didn’t know her as well as I already know you. Life’s too short, Michelle. I want to be with you. I want to grow old with you.”

  She desperately wanted to believe him. She knew he was telling the truth, but she was also convinced that, once he returned to his job in Boston and his friends and family, he would realize he belonged there.

  “Marry me, Michelle.”

  “You have to go back to Boston. If you feel the way you do now in six months, then ask me again.”

  “I can’t stay away from you that long.”

  “I want you to be sensible about this. Six months,” she repeated.

  He pushed her on her back and rolled on top of her, bracing his weight with his arms. God, how he loved her. Even when she was being stubborn.

  He stopped arguing. He had other things on his mind now. He began to nuzzle her as he nudged her thighs apart.

  “You win, sweetheart. Six months.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  He lasted three long miserable weeks.

  Then he called the movers, put his boats up for sale, packed the trunk of his car, and drove to Bowen. He stopped by The Swan first, shook Jake’s hand, and formally asked for permission to marry his daughter.

  Then he went home. To Michelle. He knocked on the door, and when she answered, he pulled her into his arms and told her, in no uncertain terms, that he had no intention of staying away from the woman he loved for six months. He was there to stay, and she was going to have to deal with it.

  She wasn’t arguing with him — she was too busy trying to kiss him — but Theo was on a roll and couldn’t stop. He told her he would open an office in Bowen and give the sleazy attorneys in St. Claire some competition, that he would also do some government work in New Orleans a couple of days a week — Justice wasn’t going to let him go — and that he had enough money invested to keep their heads well above water.

  He could actually retire now, thanks to his sister, Jordan. He and the others in the family had invested in her company, and she had made them a small fortune. And one last thing, he added as he dodged her hands, he had already called Conrad and informed him that he would be signing the coaching contract.

  Then he kissed her and told her how much he loved her.

  “I came to Bowen in search of what I had lost. I wanted to feel that passion and energy again. Now I feel alive. My life is here with you, Michelle. I’m home.”

  Tears streamed down her face. “I love you, Theo.”

  He hugged her tight. “If you ever send me away again, I swear I’ll do something so embarrassing, you’ll never live it down. The people in Bowen will be telling our grandchildren about it.”

  “I’m a doctor,” she reminded him. “Nothing embarrasses me.”

  “Yeah? So then if I call the hospital while you’re making rounds, you won’t be embarrassed when I have the operator page Dr. Smarty-pants?”

  She pulled back so she could look into his eyes. “You wouldn’t . . .”

  “Try me.”

  “I’ll never send you away again. I promise.”

  The tension eased out of his shoulders and he relaxed. “I want you to go with me to my brother’s wedding next weekend. It’s in Iowa. I want you to meet my family, and they’ll all be there. Okay, sweetheart?”

  “Theo, are you sure —”

  “I’m sure,” he said emphatically. “You can get Landusky to cover for you, can’t you? Your dad told me you still haven’t taken a vacation.”

  “When did you talk to Daddy?”

  “I stopped by The Swan on my way here. Will you marry me, Michelle?”

  “Yes.” As simple as that. The joy she felt was overwhelming, and she began to cry.

  “I asked your dad for permission to marry you.”

  “That was sweet.”

  “He cried.”

  She got teary-eyed again. Then he made her laugh. “John Paul cried too.”

  “He’ll get used to you.”

  “The whole town’s going to be celebrating. Everyone’s been trying to help you catch a man.”

  “What?”

  He grinned. “That’s why there weren’t any ‘Welcome to Bowen’ cards with all that food. How come you didn’t figure it out? Everyone knew we belonged together, everyone but you.”

  Before she could get upset over the conspiracy, he kissed her again. Then he checked the time.

  “Gotta go, sweetheart. I don’t want to be late for practice.”

  She stood on the porch watching as he drove away. Then she sighed. She had a wedding to plan. She thought about all the things she would need to get done and decided that if she rushed, she could throw it together in six months. That was doable. Yes, six months.

  They were married in three.

  The wedding was elegant. The reception was a blowout. Michelle’s brothers, Remy and John Paul, were groomsmen, and Theo’s sisters, Jordan and Sydney, were bridesmaids. His brother Nick was Theo’s best man, and Mary Ann was Michelle’s maid of honor.

  The bride was radiant, but terribly nervous as she held on to her daddy’s arm on that long walk down the center aisle of the church. When the groom stepped forward, looking so devastatingly handsome in his tuxedo, and winked at her, she began to relax.

  Daddy had wanted to rent a fancy ballroom in one of the expensive New Orleans hotels, but Theo and Michelle wouldn’t hear of it. They wanted the reception to take place at The Swan.

  Since they wouldn’t compromise, Daddy gave in and decided then to use a little bit of his inheritance from Catherine to spruce the place up. He left the swan on top of the building alone because he felt the wing
hanging down gave the place a little added charm, but he paved the parking lot, rented a big white tent, and filled it with flowers and tables covered in white linen cloths.

  He hired a band too, but at the last minute Theo’s brother Zachary had to fill in for the drummer, Elton Spinner, who had flown the coop as soon as he heard how many law enforcement officers would be attending the affair. It seemed that Elton still had that warrant hanging over his head.

  Theo stood next to his brother Nick, watching Michelle dance with their father. Laurant, Nick’s bride, was dancing with little John Patrick; Noah and Mary Ann were glued to each other as they swayed to the music, while Daddy twirled Theo’s mother around and around.

  “Any word yet on John Russell? Or Monk?” Nick asked. “Noah told me they’re following every lead . . .”

  “They’re closing in. It won’t be long before they get both of them.”

  “That’s an optimistic outlook.”

  “Hey, it’s my wedding day. I’m allowed to be optimistic.”

  Nick changed the subject to a more pleasant one. “Noah and Jake won that tournament?”

  “Yeah, they did. They donated the cash to the football team. All the players are getting new cleats, and Jake’s trying to figure out a way he can advertise The Swan on the side of the shoes.”

  Nick smiled. “So, now you’re a football coach on top of everything else, huh?”

  Theo couldn’t take his gaze off his beautiful bride long enough to look at his brother. “Yeah, I am. Go figure.”

  Nick laughed. “It’s gonna be nice having a doctor in the family. So tell me,” he said, elbowing his brother to get his attention.

  “What?”

  “How’d that happen?”

  “How’d what happen?”

  “How’d you end up being a coach?”

  Theo grinned. “There was this kid . . .”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  It was another glorious night in paradise. The air was crisp and clean; the sky was filled with stars shining down on the golden city.

  Dressed in a silk robe and suede slippers, John stood on the terrace of his palatial penthouse apartment, looking out at the night. Life didn’t get any better than this. He took a drink of the warm brandy in the crystal snifter and sighed with contentment. The sweet fragrances of the night swirled around him.