9911 Conroy Road, Saturday, August 14, 2:20 a.m.
Lori parked in Jess’s drive.
They both just sat there for a bit.
Four people had died this week. All because no one had been paying attention when they were hurting others. The Five had taken bullying to the ultimate level. The true victims in this tragedy that sprawled across more than a decade were Lenny Porter and his friend Todd Penney.
Twelve years ago, Juliette Coleman and Scott Baker had been madly in love. Yet everything changed the night Lenny Porter died. Scott turned to another woman and rushed into a marriage with her in an attempt to forget. But he’d still been in love with Juliette and they began a torrid affair. For years he promised Juliette that he was leaving his wife and they would finally have the life they deserved. Then children came along and Scott never came through with his promises.
It took more than a decade, but Scott Baker finally grew that conscience Kevin O’Reilly mentioned. He watched his own son suffer and he realized he could no longer carry the burden of guilt, so he called Todd Penney and asked for forgiveness.
Five teens who’d had the world at their feet and the stars in their eyes had effectively killed another. And this week fate had caught up with them.
Usually Jess didn’t rely on fate, but this was one of those rare instances when it worked out. Sort of.
“You think the DA will levy charges against Penney?”
“I don’t think so. They’ll want to keep this as quiet as possible. Juliette is another story.”
“It’s difficult to feel sorry for her,” Lori admitted.
“I do feel sorry for her family.” Jess would never forget the devastation on Gina Coleman’s face when she learned the whole truth.
“It’s not a pretty story,” Lori said. “I can’t believe Coleman is doing an exclusive on it tomorrow afternoon.”
Jess laughed. “I get where she’s coming from. Juliette is her sister. Gina feels it’s her responsibility to set the record straight. Besides, you don’t get to the top and stay there by letting someone else scoop the story. She has to do something to steal back some of the spotlight Stevens stole with that Corlew interview.”
“I guess I’ll never be at the top, then. And Corlew’s an ass.”
“He is.” He was now officially on Jess’s bad side. “Don’t worry about the top. They don’t call it a lonely place for nothing.” Jess had been there and she had nothing to show for it. Well, except for an obsessed serial killer.
“Dr. Baron was not a happy camper when she arrived on the scene.”
“I was too busy to notice,” Jess fibbed.
Sylvia was not pleased at all about the call. Jess had evaded her at all costs. Hadn’t been difficult since the SWAT commander and the negotiator were standing in line to chew her out.
Sitting here wasn’t going to get her up those stairs. “Thanks for the ride.” Jess reached for the door handle.
“See you on Monday.”
“Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.” Jess laughed as she climbed out of the car. What she should have said was if Spears doesn’t show up to play.
He was close. Gant’s call about the security breach in Chicago was all the confirmation she’d needed.
As if the same thought had occurred to Lori, she parked the Mustang and climbed out. “I should walk you to your door. Make sure everything’s as it should be.”
Burnett had trained her detectives well.
Jess dragged herself up the stairs, Lori on her heels, and unlocked her door. She disarmed the security system and waited while Lori had a look around.
“All right. I’m out of here.” She grimaced. “Wish me luck. We’re taking Chester to the zoo this afternoon.”
“Remember,” Jess said as she walked her to the door, “patience and persistence.”
“I’ll try.”
Jess waved her off and locked up. When the alarm was reset, she went in search of a glass of wine.
Half an hour later she was perched on her glider, her Glock tucked next to her and a bottle of wine right next to that. Who wanted to move for refills? Maybe she’d just sit here and watch the sun rise.
She had every right to celebrate. The case was closed.
She smiled when Dan pulled into the driveway. She’d known he would come as soon as the PR stuff was done. This had been a high-profile case and people wanted answers. She’d stayed out of the limelight on this one.
He ascended the top step and smiled at her.
He was so damned handsome. And charming. And kind.
Yes, his friends were still the rich and powerful. His family still lived in the mansion on the hill. He was an organizer, a mover and a shaker of whole communities… a man who could change the course of a city’s history with one decision. Jess was a worker bee. She recognized her place and was perfectly content finding the bad guys and ensuring they couldn’t harm anyone else.
Corlew was right; she didn’t really fit in Dan’s world. She probably never would.
But somehow she fit with him.
“What’re you smiling about?” Jess inquired. Inside she was doing the same.
“Is that other glass for me?”
She’d brought out a second glass just in case she didn’t finish off the bottle before he got here. “It is. Join me.”
He sat down next to her and held his glass as she filled it. He noticed the Glock. “Good girl.”
“I told you I wasn’t taking any more unnecessary chances.”
“You mean like you did on that roof?”
She should have known he’d nail her on that one. “That one was necessary.”
“You almost gave the SWAT commander a heart attack. Rob Barlow is pissed.”
Barlow was the hostage negotiator. He’d given Jess hell at the scene.
“They should get used to it.” She had her own way of doing things.
“I warned them about that already.”
“Did you talk to Corlew?” He’d proven just how underhanded he could be with that interview… even if he had been right about the Five.
“No need. If I give him enough rope, he’ll hang himself. He’s done it before.”
That was Dan. Always taking the high road.
“Whatever racket Corlew makes,” he assured her, “the facts speak for themselves. Black did everything he could twelve years ago. He had his suspicions about the Five back then but with no evidence and all the political pressure on the DA, there was no way to convince him to prosecute.” Dan shook his head. “You can’t win a case without evidence. No DA is going to trial without it. Black’s hands were tied and the case was closed.”
“I know you, Daniel Burnett, and no matter how much pressure the mayor or anyone else exerted, you would never cave unless you believed it was the right thing to do.”
He reached up, traced her cheek with his finger. “Thank you. That means a great deal to me.”
They drank their wine and rocked back and forth on the glider for a while. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and removed an envelope. He passed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“The medical history from your aunt.”
Her jaw fell slack. “You went by her house?”
“You’ve been pressed for time all week. This morning I had a meeting at the mayor’s office. Afterward I swung by before going back to the office. It took twenty minutes. Now it’s done.”
Jess smiled. “Thank you.” The truth was, her aunt was a part of the past she didn’t want to revisit, and she’d used work to avoid doing so. Just another aspect of her problem with uber-independence. It was far easier to be strong and independent if you never looked back. Easier to pretend you didn’t have a problem if you didn’t recognize past mistakes.
The man sitting next to her was a very good reason to try harder to work through those issues.
“You’re welcome. Now drink your wine. I’m planning on seducing you.”
“You’re behind the curve, Burnett. I already started seducing you.” She lifted her glass. “Cheers.”
She kicked aside the worry about Spears that tried to invade.
It was Saturday. The case was solved and she and Dan were off duty.
No more thoughts about bad guys and cases.
Dan carried her inside and left her on the bed just long enough to lock out the world.
They made love until the sun came up.