He stared at her. Just stared. The tiny healing wound from the bump on the head he’d gotten in the fire reminded her he’d almost lost his life helping her.

  She swallowed. The chocolate suddenly tasted bitter in her mouth. She shouldn’t have spied on him like this. “Is everything okay?” Like her, he had no family left. That he still paid such tribute to his mother was likely a very private matter to him. He wouldn’t want CJ intruding like this.

  “I’m glad you like it.” He slid his hands into the pockets of his trousers. He no longer wore the black tee and jeans. He’d changed into the usual gray trousers and a crisp white shirt.

  She nodded. Looked around again. “And the flowers are gorgeous.”

  “They came from my garden.”

  “Wow.”

  He stepped into the room, surveying it himself as if for the first time. “I hoped you would like all the little touches. I took great pains in selecting each one.”

  She gripped the bowl of ice cream, nodded. She could not recall a time when she’d ever been this embarrassed or felt this awkward in his presence.

  “Seeing you here,” he said, “completes the room. Makes everything perfect.”

  She tried to force her lips into a smile, but what he said made no sense. “Thank you.” Okay, it wasn’t the right thing to say, but it seemed like what he expected.

  “I’ve waited a very long time, CJ.”

  He came closer as he spoke.

  Now she didn’t know what to say. This felt wrong.

  “I’ve watched you since you were just a girl. Waited. No matter the stumbling blocks thrown in our path, I never gave up.”

  Now she was seriously worried. He wasn’t himself. The things he said were out of character. Maybe that knock on his head had shaken him more than either of them realized.

  “Are you sure you’re all right, Edward?” She tried to think how to explain her worry, but no words came.

  “As you can see, there’s no reason for you to be sad about having lost everything when the house burned,” he went on as if she’d said nothing. “I had already taken the things you cherished the most for safekeeping.”

  As if his words had provided the necessary coordinates, she turned to the shelves that lined one wall, zeroed in on the framed photographs there.

  The bowl in her hand hit the floor and bounced quietly on the carpet, sending chocolate drops splattering over her feet and the carpet.

  She was moving toward the shelves, her movements on automatic pilot. She picked up first one, then another. Her and Shelley as kids. Teenagers. Even the one recent photo they had taken last Christmas.

  “How...?” She turned to Edward, the precious photo in her hand. “I don’t understand.”

  “I knew you would want those near you.”

  But...how would he think she needed them here? And when had he taken them? The house had burned yesterday—day before yesterday.

  “The house was falling apart. You no longer needed that burden.”

  “You...” He couldn’t have set the fire—they were both inside. He wouldn’t have taken that risk...would he?

  “Our time has finally come, CJ.” He reached out, caressed her cheek. “Nothing stands in our way now.”

  “I don’t understand.” Warning bells were going off inside her head. “In our way of what?”

  “Of spending the rest of our lives together,” he explained. “I’ve waited. Groomed you. Prepared you to be the perfect bride. You’ve almost completed your residency.” He smiled. “Close enough. There’s no need to wait any longer.”

  “I’m sorry.” She backed away from his touch. “I don’t understand what’s going on here. This isn’t your mother’s room?” Her instincts were screaming at her to run. His words kept echoing in her head. Denial had swaddled her instincts. She couldn’t think how to react. This couldn’t be.

  He laughed softly. “Of course not. This is our room.”

  All the times he’d been there for her, encouraged her, helped her to attain a goal, she’d counted herself lucky to have such a wonderful friend.

  He hadn’t wanted her to be his friend...?

  “Edward, I admire and respect you.” She eased back another step. “I adore you. But like a father. Not like...that.”

  “I’m prepared to wait. You’ll come to feel a physical attraction for me in time. I understand that you have needs. I overheard you and Detective Braddock. But he is not the one for you. I am.”

  He’d heard them making love? Okay, this was way, way crazy. What he was proposing was surreal. “Edward—”

  He held up a hand. “You don’t have to say anything now. I know this is all a bit of a shock for you. But you’ll see. Everything I’ve done has been for the best. I’ve always known what was best for you.”

  Fear, slithering and threatening, snaked its way up her spine. “What do you mean, everything you’ve done?”

  “Sometimes the people we love hold us back. Sacrifices have to be made.”

  She stared at him, her heart refusing to believe what her brain was telling her. “What sacrifices?”

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  815 Wheeler Avenue, HPD, 3:10 a.m.

  “I’m not talking until my attorney is present.”

  Braddock stalked back and forth in front of the interview table.

  Cooper leaned across the table, glaring at Jenkins. “Listen, you little piece of shit, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll start talking now.”

  Jenkins moved his head side to side. “No way.”

  They’d put off allowing his call to an attorney in hopes of getting the truth out of him. The little bastard wasn’t budging. Considering he didn’t have a damned clue what was happening, Braddock couldn’t waste any more time. Every minute that passed allowed for the unexpected. He couldn’t risk waiting this bastard out.

  Braddock glanced at Cooper. “Go have a smoke.”

  She straightened, looked at her partner. “I quit smoking.”

  “Then go take a piss,” he growled.

  “Look.” She turned to him. “This is one of those moments, Braddock. I’m your partner—you can’t go doing stupid shit without me.”

  “Out,” he ordered.

  She looked from him to Jenkins, heaved a frustrated sigh, and walked out. Slammed the door.

  Jenkins licked his lips, shifted as best he could considering his skinny ass was shackled to the chair. “You touch me and I’ll file charges, Braddock. The chief, the mayor...they’re all watching this case. You can’t mess this up.”

  Braddock walked around behind him. He no longer felt angry or frustrated. He just wanted to tear this little bastard’s head off. He grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head back. “Don’t worry, the only thing I’m going to mess up is you.” Then he rammed the muzzle of his service revolver against Jenkins’s temple. “Now talk.”

  Jenkins screamed.

  Braddock released the safety on his weapon. The click resonated in the room.

  “Okay! Okay!” Jenkins wailed. “It wasn’t Nash. He killed Celeste, but he didn’t kill the others.”

  “And how would you know this?” Fury pounded once more in Braddock’s temples.

  “Because...” Jenkins’s eyes were wild with fear and something else Braddock couldn’t label. “Because I was his lover. He confided in me!” Jenkins sobbed. “Told me everything.”

  “And you,” Braddock twisted his hair, garnering a yelp, “were his snitch.”

  “Yes! Yes! Please...please don’t kill me.”

  “Is there a video?”

  “Yes.” Jenkins dragged in a quavering breath. “Yes,” he whimpered. “I know where it’s at. I can take you to it.”

  * * *

  4:50 a.m.

  The screen flickered and images came into view.

  Braddock had accompanied Jenkins to where Nash’s SUV had been towed by the forensic folks and retrieved the video from its hiding place. By the time they got back to the station the whole world was standing by, casting accusatory looks at Braddock.

  Like he gave a shit. He’d done what he had to do.

  He and Cooper sat up straighter as images came into focus on the screen.

  “You will do it!” Cost screamed at Shelley.

  “Rewind it,” Braddock ordered. His body literally shook with the anticipation now.

  “Rewind.” Cooper pressed the necessary button and the whir of the tape sounded. A click indicated it was back at the beginning. Cooper pressed play.

  Shelley opened the front door and Cost stormed in. “Fast-forward,” Braddock ordered. “Do it slow, where we can see what’s happening.”

  “Forward search,” Cooper said as she pressed another button.

  Braddock’s heart threatened to burst out of his chest as he watched the altercation between Cost and Shelley play out without the sound effects. Finally the bastard stormed out the door. Shelley leaned against it and cried.

  His heart ached for what this would do to CJ if she saw it. The images faded to black. What the hell? There had to be more than that.

  The screen flickered and Shelley was opening the door again. “Hit play,” Braddock ordered.

  Cooper hit play.

  “What do you want?”

  Edward Abbott stepped into view.

  “What the hell?” Braddock muttered.

  “You made the first move, Shelley,” Abbott said. “This is your game. What do you want?”

  Shelley went toe-to-toe with the man and stuck her finger in his face. “I want you to stay away from my sister. I know what you’re up to, and if you don’t back off, I’m going to tell her about the cameras...about everything! Then she won’t ever have anything to do with you again.”

  Abbott stared at her a moment. “Your whole life you’ve done nothing but try to hurt your sister. You’re the one who needs to stay away from her.”

  “Who do you think you are?” she demanded. “You’re nothing but a pervert. CJ’s never going to love you. When I tell her, she’ll see the truth. You’re crazy.”

  Abbott grabbed her by the throat. “You will not,” he shook her harder, squeezed her throat harder with every word, “tell her. If you do—”

  Shelley ripped away from him, raced out the still-open door.

  Abbott went after her.

  A half minute turned to one and no one reappeared on the screen. The house remained empty. No sound. No nothing.

  “Forward search again.” Braddock couldn’t breathe. This couldn’t be what he thought.

  He didn’t know how many minutes elapsed. Suddenly Abbott appeared. Alone. He looked around the living room, then walked out of the house and closed the door.

  Cooper turned to Braddock. “It was Abbott.”

  Braddock grabbed his key fob from his desk and ran for the exit. He’d failed again.

  He’d ordered CJ to stay put...with the killer.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  904 Williams Street, 3:22 a.m.

  “I only did what was necessary,” Edward assured CJ.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  Couldn’t be real.

  He couldn’t have...

  Wait. Stay calm.

  CJ had to remember that she was alone with him in his home. The cops outside couldn’t help her if they didn’t know she was in danger. She had to play this out. Stay calm. Try to survive.

  She forced air into her lungs. “Sometimes that’s what we have to do.” The words came out far steadier than she’d expected. Images of her sister running through those woods kept flashing in front of her eyes. He couldn’t be saying that he’d killed Shelley.

  That wasn’t possible.

  “That’s so true.” He smiled. “Unpleasant, but true.”

  Think! She needed an excuse to get out of this room.

  She glanced at the melting ice cream on the pristine white carpet. “I’m sorry. I’ve made a mess. I should clean it up.”

  He caught her by the arm when she tried to move past him. “Don’t trouble yourself. I’ll have it cleaned.”

  “All right.” She pushed a smile into place, felt her lips tremble despite her best efforts. “Wine would be good. We can toast the future. And closure on the past.”

  He stared into her eyes for a long moment. She prayed with all her heart that he wouldn’t see the fear...the lie.

  “That’s a marvelous idea.”

  He kept his fingers wrapped around her arm and led the way to the stairs and then down. Each step sent her heart into a faster, more panicked rhythm. When they reached the entry hall, all she had to do was get away from him and run out the front door.

  The police were right outside.

  As if he’d sensed her thought, his grip tightened when they reached the entry hall. He held on so tight it hurt. She kept her mouth shut, pretended not to notice.

  There was a rear entrance in the kitchen.

  There were knives in the kitchen.

  She would find a way to escape. She could do it.

  The silence boomed in her ears. Should she say something? Anything?

  When they reached the kitchen, he loosened his grip but didn’t let go. He paused in front of the wine fridge. “How about that sweet white you love so much?”

  “That would be wonderful.” She swallowed back the panic. “I love the bubbles.” What should she do? Panic swam in her veins.

  He pulled a bottle from the fridge. His gaze settled on CJ once more. “I’m so glad we’ve gotten the ugliness out of the way. I don’t want anything standing between us.” He stared at the label on the bottle of wine. “Shelley made your life so unhappy. She made her own life equally miserable. She’s at rest now. It’s for the best.”

  Emotion rammed against CJ’s sternum. She fought the rising sobs. Couldn’t let herself break down. But she couldn’t believe he would kill Shelley. It just didn’t seem possible. “Edward…” She moistened her trembling lips. “Surely it was an accident. You didn’t mean to—”

  He slammed the bottle on the counter and glared at her. “Shelley was a sniveling whore. I could not let her ruin all that I’d worked for.”

  CJ’s entire body shook. She tried to stop it. Couldn’t. “But she was my sister.” This was too much. It couldn’t be...

  His fingers dug into her flesh where he held her arm. “Are you questioning my decision?” His eyes were wild with fury. “After all I’ve done?”

  CJ forced her head to move side to side. “I just...” Think! Don’t push him too far!

  “You just what?” he demanded.

  “You killed her.” She searched the cold eyes—the face—she didn’t recognize. “Ricky? Juanita? Cost? I just don’t understand how you could have done this.”

  “Mother warned me that you weren’t suitable.” The icy fury in his voice sent a new rush of fear crowding into her chest. “But I refused to listen. I knew.” His expression turned wistful. “I knew without a doubt that I could nurture you, mold you into perfection. She tried to stop me, but I defied her every challenge. Ignored her every warning. You were worth any sacrifice.”

  “Edward.” She had to make him see this was insane. “You’re...you’re not well. This isn’t rational.”

  He grabbed her with both hands. Shook her hard. “Are you questioning my judgment?”

  Heart pounding in her ears, she mentally scrambled for the right answer. She had to get the situation back under control. Had to escape. Arguing with him would only push him further over the edge. “I—I didn’t mean to question—”

  “Do you have any idea what I gave up for you?” he roared. “I struggled my entire life to live up to her standards. To prove I was worthy. Not like my father. But then I found you, and she...” Fury flashed in his eyes, flared his nostrils. “She tried to stop me. But I loved you more than her. I would not be stopped. Not by anyone.”

  Dear God.

  “I’m sorry.” CJ forced her lips to stretch into a wobbly smile. “Of course. You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. You did exactly what needed to be done. They...they were in the way of our future. How could I possibly be upset by all your hard work? You saved me.” Tentatively, she reached up as if to hug him. He resisted at first. “Forgive me, Edward. I was a fool not to recognize immediately the brilliance in what you’d done.”

  For one endless moment he hesitated.

  Please let him believe me.

  Then he surrendered and she put her arms around his neck. She tiptoed, pressed her cheek to his. “Thank you,” she murmured. “For loving me enough to sacrifice so much.”

  He embraced her tightly, his own body trembling now. “CJ, my sweet, sweet CJ.”

  She drew back only far enough to meet his eyes. “Let’s have that wine now. We won’t talk of those unpleasant things ever again. The future is all that matters now.”

  He smiled, relaxed his hold on her. “I knew Mother was wrong.”

  CJ reached for the bottle of wine. “We need the corkscrew and glasses?”

  “We do.” He smiled at her once more before reaching toward the drawer next to the wine fridge.

  CJ’s fingers tightened on the neck of the bottle. She hesitated a fraction of a second. He’d been her and Shelley’s savior so many times.

  Her hero.

  More of a father than her biological father had ever dreamed of being.

  And then she stopped thinking at all.

  She drew back and swung the bottle with all her might. She slammed it into the side of his head.

  He staggered back.

  The bottle crashed on the marble floor.

  And then she ran like hell.

  She’d almost made it to the front door when she heard him crying her name.

  Hurry!

  She fumbled with the locks. Wrenched the door open and burst out onto the porch. She opened her mouth to scream—

  Strong arms caught her.

  Braddock.

  “You okay?”

  “Edward!” She turned to see if he was coming. “He killed Shelley! And the others.”

  Braddock pulled her to the side of the open door. Cops rushed up the steps, poured through the entry.