When she sagged against him, Spalding released her mouth so that he could grab her more securely. The muzzle of the gun scraped her arm. “Lying bitch. Lying little tramp. You had no right to take those children away from me. They were mine. I was gonna raise 'em right. Teach 'em discipline and obedience.”
“The way you did little Andy?” Phila asked, forcing herself to keep her voice low so that he wouldn't panic and put his hand back over her mouth.
Spalding's frightening blue eyes blazed. “Andy refused to obey me. And I made it real clear to all the children that they had to obey me. I had to make an example of him. I had no choice.” He shook Phila so hard her head snapped back. “No choice. He was mine to do with as I wanted.”
“Did you make the others watch? Is that why they were all so frightened the next day when I tried to talk to them?”
“I told you, I had to teach 'em discipline. They had to know what would happen if they didn't obey me. Discipline is the key. And a kid learns discipline best when he's scared shitless. That's the way I learned it from my Pa.”
“I don't want to hear your crazy reasoning or your excuses. There are no excuses for what you've become and, deep inside, you know it. You're a murderer, Elijah Spalding. You're nothing but a child abuser and a child killer. The scum of the earth. Beating those children and killing poor little Andy wasn't all you did either, was it? You used some of them in other ways, too, didn't you? You raped some of them.”
Spalding's heavy face turned red with his fury. “Those kids were given to me to do with as I saw fit. I was supposed to raise 'em. I had the responsibility to do it right. They were mine. I had a right to do whatever I wanted to them. I had to enforce discipline. I had to let them know I was in total control.”
Nick looked around the circle of faces as Reed seconded the motion for a vote. In that moment he knew Phila had been right. Win or lose, it was better this way. This was family business. If he did win, he needed to know the families backed him. If he lost, the hell with it. California and Phila were waiting.
“All those in favor of appointing Nick CEO, say aye.”
“Aye,” said Reed.
A curious relief went through Nick. If nothing else, he now knew for certain that his father believed in him again.
“Aye,” said Darren.
“Aye.” Victoria looked at Nick and smiled faintly.
Eleanor hesitated, glancing once at Hilary, and then she nodded brusquely, “Aye.”
Hilary put down the silver pen she had been toying with for the past few minutes. Her smile was as serene as ever, but her eyes were bottomless pools of bitterness. “That seems to settle the matter, doesn't it? Congratulations, Nick. You've won.”
A taut silence followed that observation. It was broken by Reed, who reached out to slap Nick on the shoulder. His eyes were gleaming with satisfaction. “Better call Phila and tell her the news. She'll be on pins and needles, if I know her.”
Nick's brows rose. “You think so?”
“Yep. Give her a call. That little gal will be a nervous wreck by now wondering what happened.” He reached for the phone and shoved it over in front of Nick.
Nick picked up the receiver and dialed, aware of the others watching him. It was as if they all wanted Phila to be a part of this morning's decision, he suddenly realized. They were treating her like family.
In the condominium the phone rang for the third time. “That will be Nick,” Phila said patiently. “He knows I'm here. If I don't answer, he'll be suspicious.”
The phone rang a fourth time.
“All right, answer it, damn it, but don't say anything to make him think I'm here or so help me, I'll wait for him after I've finished with you and I'll kill him, too. I swear to God, I will.”
With trembling fingers, Phila picked up the phone, trying to think clearly. She knew it would be Nick on the other end of the line. He was her only hope.
* * *
The phone rang four times before she answered. Nick knew instantly that something was wrong. Her voice was thin and breathless.
“Phila?”
“Oh, Nick. Nick I'm so glad you called.” The false cheerfulness burned Nick's ears. “Everything's fine here, but do you know, after you left this morning I realized I had forgotten to thank you for that gift that you and Darren and Reed and Tec gave me. You remember the present I'm talking about?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Nick demanded, hunching over the phone.
“Yes, that's it. That's the one. Well, I just want you to know I'm going to get a lot of use out of it starting right now. Can't wait to use it, in fact. I…Oh, dear. I've got to run. I'll talk to you later, Nick. Hurry home.”
Nick slammed down the receiver and surged to his feet. Everyone else at the table stared at him in astonishment.
“Something wrong?” Reed asked.
“I'm not sure, but I think so.” Nick was already moving around the table, heading for the door.
Darren stood up. “What the hell's the matter, Nick?”
Nick paused briefly at the door. “What's the only thing any of us ever gave Phila?”
“We taught her how to use a gun,” Darren responded instantly.
“Exactly. She just told me she had an immediate use for our gift. And she asked me to hurry home.”
“Goddamn it,” Reed breathed. “You think it's the guy she put in jail?”
“I don't know. I'm not taking any chances. Eleanor, call nine-one-one. Tell them we've got a suspicious situation and we'd appreciate having it checked out right away. If you don't get the feeling we're going to get help in a hurry, call the manager of my condominium building and ask him to go upstairs and check on Phila. Tell him I'm on my way.”
Eleanor reached out immediately to pick up the phone. “Of course, Nick.”
Nick went through the door. “Thanks,” he called back over his shoulder.
“Hold on, a second,” Reed announced, shoving back his chair. “I believe I'll go along for the ride. Tec will want to come, too, just in case.”
“Count me in,” Darren said, rising swiftly to his feet.
Victoria was out of her chair. “I'm going with the rest of you.”
Thirty seconds later Hilary and Eleanor sat alone at the table. Hilary watched Eleanor punch out 911 and begin speaking in the imperious tones the older woman always used when she wanted instant results from the people she employed.
Just like Eleanor to think of the cops as her personal employees, Hilary thought fleetingly as she quietly gathered up her files.
Eleanor had finished speaking just as Hilary reached the door. She put down the receiver. “They're on their way,” she announced.
Hilary nodded. “That doesn't surprise me. It's rather amusing, isn't it? The Lightfoots and Castletons are rushing to Philadelphia's rescue.”
“Perhaps it's only simple justice, Hilary. She seems to have done her best recently to rush to C&L's rescue.”
“That's one way of looking at it.”
“Where will you go now, Hilary?” Eleanor asked. “What are you going to do?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it matters. You're family, Hilary.”
“No. Not any longer. I don't think I ever was. Not in any real sense. Not in the way Phila is going to be.”
Hilary let herself out the door and closed it very quietly behind her.
Phila could have wept and she knew she probably would have if she hadn't been too scared and too busy trying to think clearly. Spalding still had her pinned against his bulk. He started to drag her toward the bedroom. She marshaled her thoughts. Once before she had manipulated this man. She knew how to push his buttons. She must do it again.
“You'd better leave me alone and get out of here while you can. The authorities will be looking for you.”
“By the time they figure out where I've gone, I'll be out of here.”
“How did you find me?”
“I made Ruth keep track of you. She
went and hired somebody to find you and tell her where you were all the time.”
Phila closed her eyes in silent anguish. She had never been safe, not even during the time she had spent in Port Claxton. Someone had been watching her. The realization was almost as horrifying as her present situation.
“What are you going to do, Elijah?” she asked, fighting to keep her voice calm.
“First, I have to punish you for the way you ruined everything. I'm going to hurt you for what you did. Hurt you bad, the way we used to hurt the women prisoners when I was workin' as a merc. And when you're crying and beggin' for mercy, I'm going to kill you.”
“You're a fool. What will you do? Where will you run? You'll have to hide for the rest of your life because everyone will know for certain this time that you're a murderer. The man I'm living with will hunt you to the ends of the earth. He's powerful man, Spalding. A lot more powerful than you are.”
“You're only his whore, not his wife. Why should be care about you when you're gone? I'll be safe.”
“Nothing will protect you from Nick Lightfoot. You'll be looking over your shoulder as long as you live.”
“Shut your mouth, bitch. I can take care of myself.”
“Not a chance, Spalding. I want you to know what you're risking by killing me. I put you in jail once before, remember? You'll be going back there because of me.”
“I said shut your mouth, you bitch. You don't know what you're talking about.” He dragged her as far as the bedroom door and then through it. He released her, took a step back and gave her such a violent slap with the back of his hand that Phila fell onto the bed.
Phila tasted blood from her cut lip. When she opened her eyes Spalding was towering over her with maniacal lust in every line of his face. She had seen that look on a man's face once before, the afternoon she had been attacked in the foster home. But this time there was no Crissie to save her. She watched in horror as Spalding began unzipping his dirty trousers.
“No.” She remembered the other time, remembered the lamp Crissie had used.
Without stopping to think she lashed out and caught the base of the bedside lamp. It flew from the table and crashed against Spalding's side.
“Bitch.” Spalding leaped back in an instinctive movement as glass shattered. He raised his gun hand to shield his face from the fragments of the exploding light bulb.
Phila rolled to the side of the bed, yanking open the bedside table drawer. Her fingers closed around the familiar grip of the .38. Just aim it and pull the trigger.
Lying half on and half off the bed, she jerked the gun out of the drawer, whipped it around toward Spalding whose hands were just falling away from his eyes. She fired.
The roar of the revolver deafened her. Spalding shrieked, staggered back against the wall and then went down with a thud. Blood welled from his shoulder, staining his shirt and trousers. His hand twitched but he did not move.
Phila's ears were still ringing a few seconds later when Nick, followed by a lot of familiar faces, came through the bedroom door.
“Holy shit,” said Tec Sherman.
Spalding groaned.
“He's alive,” Reed observed. “She must still be rushing her shots.”
“I'm working on the problem,” Nick said as he gathered a trembling Phila into his arms and held her close.
* * *
“I'm glad he didn't die. He deserved it for what he did to those children, but I'm glad I don't have to live with the knowledge that I killed someone.” Phila shuddered as she sat drinking brandy a long while later. The police interviews had been exhausting. The aftermath of a shooting, even one done in self-defense, was extensive, she had discovered.
But Castletons and Lightfoots had been everywhere, fixing tea for her, buffering her from the endless police questioning, dealing with the lab technicians, ushering the medical people in and out of the condominium. They had all hovered protectively over Phila during the long process, and Nick had never left her side.
“Might have been a goddamn sight simpler if you had punched his ticket for a one-way trip,” Reed said. “The way the bleeding-heart liberal laws are in the country these days, the bastard'll probably be able to turn around and sue you from jail when he recovers.”
“We can handle any lawsuit Spalding throws at us,” Nick said as he poured another shot of brandy into Phila's glass. “After all, we can afford better lawyers than Spalding will ever be able to buy. And you know how it works, the one with the most expensive lawyer wins.”
“Very reassuring.” Phila smiled weakly as she looked around at the circle of faces in Nick's living room. Everyone was there except Hilary. Even Eleanor had grabbed a cab after making her phone call to the police.
Tec Sherman smiled contentedly. “Shot was a little wide on account of you rushed it, but under the circumstances you did damn good, ma'am. The creep'll live, but you made your mark, that's for dang sure.”
“How are you feeling?” Victoria asked as she handed out cups and saucers. “Heart still pounding?”
“I think it's slowly returning to normal, thanks to all of you. I honestly don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here. I could hardly think straight when the police arrived.”
“The detective told me privately that the whole case looked real clean. For starters, Spalding is an escaped prisoner. The deck is stacked against him from the get-go,” Reed said. “Shooting him was a clear case of self-defense.”
“Speaking of which,” Phila said softly, “I owe you gentlemen my thanks. I would not have known how to defend myself if you all hadn't nagged me into learning how to shoot that horrid gun.”
“Always nice to be appreciated,” Nick murmured. “Drink your brandy, Phila. It will help you sleep.”
“I doubt it. I'm not going to sleep a wink tonight.”
“You will,” he promised.
But contrary to Nick's prediction, Phila was still lying wide awake at one o'clock in the morning. A variety of emotions were clamoring for attention in her mind. Her mood seemed to be very fragile. She ricocheted between peaks and valleys. For a while a sense of euphoric relief would prevail; a moment later she would find herself on the verge of tears.
“Take it easy, honey. It's going to be all right. You'll be fine after you've had some sleep. It's just nerves.” Nick's voice was deep and soothing. He pulled her into his arms, cradling her carefully against him. “You're going to be okay.”
“I hope so.”
“Is it any worse this time than it was last time?”
She froze. “What are you talking about?”
“I'm talking about the last time you had to deal with Spalding on your own.”
“Oh.”
His fingers worked slowly through her hair in a gentling movement. “When are you going to trust me enough to tell me the full story about what happened that time, Phila?”
“I did tell you the full story. You even checked up on it yourself. I saw that copy of the newspaper article you got hold of while you were here in Seattle. Besides, why should I want to talk about the trial? It's the shooting that's upset me.” Phila couldn't seem to marshal her thoughts in a straight line the way she always had to when she discussed the Spalding trial.
“Maybe you're trying to keep too much inside. You don't have to bottle it all up, you know. Not any more. You're not alone now. You've got me. I love you, Phila.”
“I love you, too, Nick.”
“So tell me the truth and get it out of your system.”
She held herself very still in his arms. “It's not fair to put the burden on anyone else.”
“It won't be a burden for me. I've got no problem handling a few perjuries committed in the name of putting away a guy like Spalding. I'm no bleeding-heart liberal, remember? I'm a Lightfoot.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”
“Know what? That there was more to that whole incident with Spalding than you had told me?” He shrugged. “Just had a hunch. It had s
omething to do with the drug charges against him, didn't it?”
Phila nodded her head against his chest. “I planted the heroin on him during the struggle in the restaurant parking lot. I set him up for that arrest, Nick. I arranged everything. I couldn't think of anything else to do. He'd already killed one child. I was so afraid he would kill another. He was hurting all of them. Raping them. I had to stop him.”
“I know.”
The words rushed out of her in a torrent now. “I knew the cops took their morning coffee break every day at that restaurant. In a small town like Holloway, you get to know the routine. There were always a couple of patrol cars parked in front of the restaurant at ten-fifteen in the morning. People used to joke that if they ever decided to pull a bank robbery, they'd be sure to do it around ten-fifteen.”
“So you knew the cops' schedule and timed everything accordingly?”
“I knew what time they would be pulling in, and I knew I could make Spalding explode. It was easy enough to goad him into a violent response. But I didn't think a simple assault charge would do the job. I needed a felony count. Something that would get him put in jail.”
“So that he wouldn't be eligible to go on running a foster home?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get the heroin?” Nick asked.
“Good grief, Nick. You know as well as I do that it's easy enough to buy drugs these days. As a social worker I had all kinds of contacts and information, including information about people who could get me the heroin. When it was over, all I had to do was let the law take its natural course. All I had to do was lie on the stand and make damn sure I stuck with that lie. The fact that Spalding had been a mercenary who had worked in Southeast Asia and South America was in my favor.”
“The jury was willing to believe he might have started using drugs in those places and had been continuing to use them here in the States,” Nick concluded for her.
“Yes.” Phila fell silent, aware that she was waiting for his response.