“Before you start the engine, I have to tell you something.” The mayor had settled into her SUV with Zeke at the wheel.
He turned around as best he could. “Go ahead.”
“I went to that awful party at the Country Club because my father coerced me into it.”
“You told me you were goin’. Samantha went with you, right?”
“Definitely. I was about to tell my father I was leaving and was near the exit of the patio when a grill across the pavement exploded.”
“Fuck!” He gasped. “I’m sorry, that’s inappropriate language.”
“No worries. I used a few choice words in my head.”
“Did they get a report on it?”
“I have no idea. Do you think you could find out?”
“Yes, or Cal can.”
“Zeke, how could Liza Loring orchestrate that?”
“I don’t know that she could. Unless she has a contact at the club.”
“Mase belongs there. She probably has privileges, too.”
“Then we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”
“But how would she know my father would insist I come? I didn’t make the decision until the last minute.”
“This might change things, Reagan. Let me work on getting the report and call Cal. Even if he hasn’t been notified, he can find out the cause.”
She lay her head on the back of the seat. “Things are even more confusing, chaotic, now.”
“It might be confusing, but I guarantee you, Reagan, our investigation is not chaotic.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
They headed out to City Hall. She didn’t say much and Zeke was thoughtful, anyway. What does your gut tell you, buddy?
That Mason’s wife wasn’t the person after her.
Then was Saxon behind it?
He still didn’t know.
When they got to City Hall, they parked in her spot and walked into the building through the back. They were heading to her first-floor office when the elevator pinged. Zeke pulled her behind him.
Out walked Cal. “Just the people I was coming to see.”
Zeke said, “We need to talk to you, too.”
They strode to Reagan’s office and she told her secretary to hold her calls. They closed the door behind them.
After they were seated on the couches, Cal began. “You go first.”
He listened intently to the information. “No way Mason’s wife was responsible for that. There were too many variables.”
Reagan nodded. “We had the same thought.”
“Before we jump to conclusions, let me tell you what I found out. Remember how we went into the interrogation room with Paul Saxon? It was on a holiday. The place had been thoroughly cleaned before we arrived.”
Zeke nodded. “We’re following you.”
“I was about to leave when I thought of something. I got a fingerprint kit and dusted the table on the side where Saxon sat. Where Saxon touched it.”
Zeke smiled. “I reckon that’s good news.”
“It is. Everything was closed yesterday but I sent the prints to the police lab this morning. Put a rush on it. We could find out if the prints match. Maybe who he really is.”
“You don’t think he’s Paul Saxon?”
“Who knows? We have fingerprints from the cottage and the anthrax bag that are unidentified. If they match, we got our guy.”
“So, somebody would have hired him? His credentials showed he wasn’t from Rockford.”
“It’s a strong possibility.” Cal stood. “I’ll go call Bright Oaks about the report. If they don’t have one, I’ll head over there.”
“Things are happening fast, Reagan,” Zeke said when the police chief left. “I told you the situation wasn’t chaotic. God willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we’ll have some answers soon.”
She laughed at his phrasing. “I certainly hope so.”
* * *
Hannah sat outside after Nell left. She was sad because her family left today. And in truth, she missed Zeke. Maybe she’d invite him to dinner. But Sasha had asked something of her yesterday, and she promised she’d do it.
So, she got up, untied Prince and went into the house and into her bedroom. Pulling open her desk drawer, she took out Sasha’s diary. Her hand clenched the book. She was about to live through the worst time in her life, if only through her sister’s eyes. Sasha had highlighted and bookmarked passages. She turned to the first. Damn, the date. September 5th. It was exactly a year ago today that Zeke dumped her.
September 5
Something bad happened to Hannah today. I got a horrible feeling so I called her. She was crying her eyes out. Said she couldn’t talk. To give her space. I called Annalise’s dorm and asked her about it, but she said she didn’t know anything.
September 7
I can’t get anything out of the twins but I know they know something. I’m going over to Hannah’s today. Agent Peters will have a fit but I control where I go and my Secret Service agent doesn’t. Actually, when he picks me up from school, I’ll order him to take me.
Later note: I’ve never seen Hannah so sad, angry, and…hopeless. She wouldn’t tell me why. She asked me to leave. I cried all the way home.
September 10
I overheard the girls talking. Hannah’s been seeing Zeke. Sleeping with him. How could he let that happen? He’s too old for her. He’s our freakin’ guard. I have so many emotions I feel sick. I’m going to hurl…
September 15
Nothing’s right. Dad and Mom still don’t know she’s unhappy. The girls swore me to secrecy and filled me in. I’m sick about it.
November
These are going to be horrible holidays.
Nothing’s changed.
December
I found out Zeke’s going to train to get onto the VPPD. Maybe when he’s gone from our lives, Hannah will be better. I hate, hate, hate him. I still get sick with these horrible feelings.
Hannah’s whole body was stiff to the point of hurting when she closed the book, despite the fact that many pages followed with stuff highlighted. She couldn’t read any more. It made her stomach pitch. Sasha had suffered through the whole damned thing!
Suddenly, she needed to see her sister. She got up and found her keys and headed to Sasha’s.
* * *
Sasha walked into the house about noon. Dan came out of the kitchen, carrying a soda. “Hey, you’re back? I thought you had one more daytime class.”
“I canceled it.”
“Why?”
“Let’s sit.” They took the couch and she grasped his hands.
“I, um, had some spotting and decided to come home to rest.” She put her hand on her stomach and felt a connection, the one that was there after she’d seen the dark stains on her underwear at work.
“What?”
“This isn’t a big deal. Baby was still there. I sense she is.”
“She?”
“Yes, Dan, yes, she.”
His brows furrowed. “But why the bleeding if she’s fine?”
“I think I read that happens sometimes.” She laid back into the cushions, feeling tired.
“I’d feel better if you’d see a doctor.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, Sasha.” He seemed exasperated. That never happened. “Sorry, but this is our kid. For my sake, get it checked out.”
She glanced at the clock. “I’ll call my OBGYN. She should still be at work.”
Julie Pride told her to come right in. Sasha and Dan headed into the garage just as Hannah pull into the driveway. She met them at the entrance. “Hi, I…” She got a glimpse of Dan’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“I had some spotting. I know the baby’s fine. I can feel it. But Dan insists we see the OBGYN. So, we’re driving to town.”
A look of such dread came over Hannah’s face, she stumbled back.
“Han, are you okay?”
“Um….”
“I’m fine, sis.” Sasha wished people would believe her!
Dan took over. “Hannah, you’re coming with us.”
She nodded.
She’d parked off to the side so she climbed into the rear seat of their Volvo. Dan backed out. Sasha turned around. “Hannah, you’re white. I know the baby’s fine.”
Dan put his hand on her knee. “We’ll both feel better when the doc tells us that.”
Hannah said, “I want to believe you but…”
“But what?”
“Nothing. Let’s get in there and find out.”
A nurse took Sasha right in, and she brought Dan and Hannah along. Doctor Julie Pride was already in the examining room along with a nurse. It smelled like antiseptic in here. “Oh, hello, everybody.”
“Sorry, but these two are worried, which is why I brought them along. You’ve met Dan. This is my sister Hannah.”
Hannah greeted her.
“Let’s get you checked out. Climb up onto the table and pull up your shirt, push your shorts down a bit. There’s a real quick way to see if the fetus is still viable.”
At the statement, a chill ran through Sasha. She said, more for herself, “She is, I know it.”
“Well, I do hope you have a girl if you want one.”
“I will.”
She laughed at Sasha’s certainty. Sasha rarely told anyone outside the family about her feelings.
“This is an ultrasound machine. We’d be taking one soon anyway, so we’ll do a sonogram now.”
The nurse handed Julie the belly probe and some gel. “This is going to be cold.”
She spread the gel on Sasha’s belly and Sasha shivered. “It is cold.”
Julie moved the probe around.
There was no noise like a heartbeat. Sasha had listened to tapes of the rapid thump-thump-thump several times. But she was too early in the pregnancy for that.
“Ah, here we are,” the doctor said. “At this stage, the things you'll likely see are the yolk sac and the gestational sac.”
They looked on as Julie outlined both sacs. “And, wow, we can see the embryo inside already. It’s this tiny white curled object.”
“Oh, my goodness.”
Dan’s hand was a vise around hers and it hurt.
Hannah’s hand clapped over her mouth.
“The job of the yoke sac is to provide the embryo with nutrients until the placenta forms and takes over. This confirms that the pregnancy is in the right place, and still viable.”
“So, everything’s all right?” Dan asked.
“Yes, it is. For now. If you have any cramping or bleeding which is bright red, come in again. If it’s a brownish color, you’re fine, you’re just spotting. But in any case, if you get concerned, we can check you out.”
Dan let go of Sasha’s hand. Hannah stepped closer to the bed. There were tears in both their eyes. “You guys, I told you we were fine, me and my daughter.”
Again, the doctor laughed. She had no idea how right Sasha was.
* * *
Zeke drove to Hannah’s. She hadn’t returned any of his calls, which pissed him off royally. And the day had been disappointing. First, the police didn’t get the results of the fingerprints. Then there was no report on the grill explosion, though Cal pushed them to get one done asap. But that wouldn’t happen until tomorrow. So they were in limbo.
Like him and Hannah were, apparently. Why hadn’t she been in contact? Could she have gotten blowback yesterday before her family left? Well, he’d find out now. He arrived at her house about six.
She was sitting outside, as if waiting for him. He exited the car and slammed the door, strode toward the table. “Hi.”
“Hello, Zeke.”
He took a bead on her. “Your eyes are puffy. You’re pale. Don’t you feel good?”
“No…” She cleared her throat. “…I don’t. Sit down.” She pushed a book over at him. He rapped it with his knuckles. “You keep a diary?”
“No, but Sasha does and did, through her whole teenage years. This is one that covers…when you broke my heart.”
His pulse rate sped up. “You told your teenage sister I ended us?”
“No, Zeke. She has those feelings, remember? She knew right away something was wrong with me. No one would tell her anything. She came over, badgered the girls. They finally had to tell her a watered-down version.”
“And she wrote about it.” He grasped her hand across the table. She gripped his. “Why would you read it after all this time?”
“Yesterday she said she might be wrong about you. But she asked me to read some of the pages, to be sure I remembered what happened between you and me.”
“You read it? Was it awful for you, honey?”
“Not in the way you mean. I could have handled the second- hand report, but I had no idea how our breakup affected Sash. She got sick over it and I mean literally sick, more than once. Actually, I couldn’t read anymore after the first few highlighted passages. I want you to read them now. Five of them.”
Boy, he didn’t want to do this. But he opened the book and read because Hannah asked him to.
That poor kid. Zeke felt his throat clog. His eyes water. He had no idea that he’d done so much damage. And to read in black and white how much Hannah suffered… He made himself finish five of them, then looked up. Anger gone, his stomach roiling with regret, he said, “I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t see you anymore, Zeke.”
“What?”
“Sasha had some spotting today. She’s fine now, but Dan and I took her to the doctor.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is the doctor worried?”
“Not at all.”
“Is Sasha sick too?”
“No, she’s feeling fine. But still…Zeke, what if you leave me again?”
“So, you’re relating Sasha’s baby scare to how bad she felt when I broke up with you?”
“I am.”
“That’s crazy thinkin’.”
“Don’t you dare tell me I’m overreacting.”
“I won’t. But I can’t let you go over this.”
“What if you leave me again?” she repeated, with agitation this time. “I can’t risk how that might affect my sister’s health.”
“I won’t leave you.”
She stared at him.
“Haven’t I proved I’m in for the long haul? I’ve given you space to decide about us. I moved up here for you. Set up a business. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
“Even if you stay in Rockford, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll stay with me. And really, Zeke, you made it sixteen days with your plan. That’s not much of a track record.”
He sat back. She was right. He was pushing her too hard. But she didn’t know how much he’d missed her. Still, he wouldn’t trivialize her feelings. He was thoughtful for a few seconds. Maybe… “Let’s get married, then.”
Her jaw dropped.
“Maybe that’ll convince you I’m not gonna leave you and hurt Sasha…” He rapped his knuckles on the book. “…like this again.”
“No.”
“Why?” His voice rose a notch.
“It seems blasphemous.”
“How?” Another notch.
“Like I’m forcing you into marriage.”
“Fuck it, Hannah, what do you think my long-term plan was?”
“I guess I didn’t get that far in my thinking.”
“Now that you know I was planning marriage, let’s do it.”
“The answer’s still no. At least for now. We need to take a break until I have more time to think about this.”
That was it. Zeke couldn’t take this see saw. He stood and slapped the diary down on the table. Prince barked, then growled. “No, no more jerkin’ me around. Marry me now or I am gettin’ out of your life.”
“I—"
“You know what else? I think you’re using your sister as an excuse to stop seeing me. You don’t want to take the risk. You’re a coward.”
“That’s not true.”
He held up his hand. He was about to combust so he had to leave. “Don’t say anything more. I’m goin’. You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
“Zeke!”
But he was already heading to the car. Fuck, he couldn’t believe this!