Next to Die (32 page)

“They told me to stay here till the sheriff returned from the site of the accident,” Penny protested.

Joe wanted to hear more about her valiant escape. She’d managed a brief explanation in her phone call—a call that had made Joe dizzy with relief.

“Our people are already at the scene,” Hannah replied. “Ritter’s dead,” she added gently.

Penny’s eyes glazed. “I figured he would be,” she whispered.

She was so strong, so brave, that it was all Joe could do not to haul her into his embrace.

“So, let’s go,” said Hannah. “The sheriff of Pungo can wait for your statement.”

But then a deputy popped out of the nearest office. “Just a minute, now. Who are you?” he demanded, swaggering up to them.

“Special Agent Lindstrom, FBI,” retorted Hannah, flashing her badge. “We have jurisdiction on his case. The victim is coming with us. Take my card.” As she thrust it at the deputy, Valentino waved Joe and Penny through the exit.

Joe found himself back in the FBI official sedan, Penny tucked in beside him. As she released the edges of her blanket to buckle herself in, he noted the chafed skin on her wrists with a sense of shock.

What did he expect? She’d already told him that Ritter had been ordered to kill her. Tying her wrists was par for the course.

“She needs to go home and rest,” he gritted to the agents.

The dark eyes glancing into the rearview mirror were apologetic. “Standard procedure requires that she be checked out by a physician. The faster we move on this, the better our chances of apprehending Ritter’s boss.”

“He knows me,” Penny volunteered in a thin voice. “That’s why he wanted me dead. He considered me a liability.”

Hannah swiveled in the front seat. “Do you want to talk to us now, hon? Or later, after a doctor sees you?”

“I don’t need a doctor.”

“It’s standard procedure, Penny. We need to process your clothes and check you for evidence.”

“I’ll talk now,” Penny said, looking out the window.

Joe swallowed down his helplessness. He couldn’t, wouldn’t even think about what evidence Hannah believed the medical exam would yield.

“We’ll need to record your statements,” Hannah added, producing a handheld recorder. She spoke into it first, naming the investigation and providing the date. She asked Penny to acknowledge that she was being recorded. Then the interview began. “Can you tell us what happened as you left the hospital yesterday evening?”

As Penny recapped how she’d been chloroformed in the parking garage and had awakened, bound and blindfolded in a basement somewhere, Joe traced the scar that was throbbing and burning on his cheek. He willed his blood pressure to subside.

“Then I overheard Ritter talking to his boss,” Penny was saying. “That’s when I overheard his name. I swear I’ve heard it before, in a conversation.” She rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes in concentration. “I just can’t remember where.”

“Why do you think Ritter’s boss knows who you are?” Hannah prompted.

“He sounded so distressed when Ritter told him my name. I could hear him on the other end. He told Ritter to get rid of me.”

Joe sucked in a breath at the stark remark.

“Did you recognize his voice?”

“No, not overhearing it like that.”

“What happened after that?”

“Ritter took my picture, as a memento. Then he left me for a while. Later, he dragged me out of the basement up to his car. He put me in the back seat and started driving.”

As she described her desperate bid for freedom, Joe had to open the window for fresh air. It was either that or throw up. At the same time, he couldn’t be more impressed. There wasn’t a woman in the world braver than Penny.

“What kind of profile do you have on this guy?” he demanded. It scared him to death knowing the ricin killer was still alive.

“We believe he’s in the military,” said Hannah carefully.

“Penny sees guys in the military all day long,” Joe pointed out.

“We think he has a hang-up about friendly fire. He’s taken it upon himself to avenge those he thinks are responsible for blue-on-blue engagement.”

“You mean those four officers,” said Joe.

“Yes,” said Hannah. “They were all investigated for their part in friendly fire incidents and exonerated.”

Jesus,
thought Joe. Everyone was up in arms about friendly fire these days. That didn’t help to narrow down the list of suspects any. “So, what now?” he demanded.

Valentino glanced into the rearview mirror again. “We examine the evidence that Ritter left behind. Hopefully it’ll lead us back to the ricin killer.”

Hopefully? Penny’s safety was in jeopardy here. Joe wanted the ricin killer caught today. “I want her protected, and Lia, too, twenty-four seven,” he demanded.

“Not a problem,” said Hannah, on a sympathetic note. “I’ll put in a request for U.S. Marshals, one for each of them.”

Placated, Joe glanced at Penny, hoping to see her relief, but she’d nodded off to sleep. He scooted closer, offering his shoulder as a pillow to lean on. The weight of her head was as much a comfort to him.

Joe drew down the blankets on his bed and realized that this was the first time Penny had elected to sleep in his bed, in his house.

Beyond the drawn blinds, the bright sky betrayed that it was just late afternoon, yet they were both exhausted from the events of the night before. “Hop in,” he invited, fluffing the pillow as Felix took up residence at the foot of the bed.

With a murmur of thanks, Penny eased between the sheets wearing one of his T-shirts, long enough on her that it fell to her thighs. As she pulled the covers to her chin, Joe got in the other side, then wriggled to the middle to pull her close.

Her hands came up. “I can’t,” she whispered.

He released her, falling back against the pillows with deep concern. Penny had kept him at a distance since the incident. That and the mandatory examination by a doctor had left him fearing the worst. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask. Even if she had been violated, it changed nothing for him. He only wanted to help her make the memories go away.

“It’s not you, Joe,” Penny said, reading his thoughts as always. “I’ll be fine in a day or two. It’s just . . . at the hospital they had to check me over, and—” To his dismay, her voice began to quaver. “He didn’t rape me or anything like that,” she added.

“You don’t have to say any more,” he begged, nonetheless aware of his relief. “I just wanted to hold you until you realize you’re safe and no one’s ever going to hurt you again.”

“Oh, Joe.” She lifted a hand to stroke the line of his jaw. At the same time, her chin trembled, betraying troubled thoughts.

“What?” he asked turning sideways to see her better.

She shook her head, holding out on him.

“You know you can tell me anything, Pen,” he urged.

Tears seeped slowly from her eyes, each one leaving a gash in Joe’s heart.
God,
he thought
, let me be able to handle this, whatever it is.

“I was so afraid, Joe. All I knew was that he was going to kill me if I didn’t do something. I didn’t mean to stoop to his level; I just had to save myself.” A sob tore through her, and she turned her face into the pillow to hide it.

Joe’s hands jerked her to him, nearly crushing her with the force of his embrace. “Cry, damn it. Let it out, and then never think of it again. You did what you had to do, Penny. The accident killed him. Get that straight right now.”

“I know. I just feel so confused.”

He knew she was suffering the posttraumatic stress that followed terror, but still Penny’s racking sobs made him feel so helpless. He’d never hurt so badly for another human being, would have given anything to strip her mind of those awful memories of her fight to survive.

To his relief, she accepted his comfort, collapsing on and into him. He held her gently, murmuring reassurances until the storm of emotion passed.

He stroked her back, her hair, his touch comforting and platonic. At last, he felt her grow limp and slip into the sleep she needed to begin the healing process.

In the dim light, Joe studied Penny’s pale, bruised face. How could he ever have considered her less than lovely? Her beauty came from within; it was timeless. It took his breath away.

He put his lips to her forehead, whispering the words that his heart felt so plainly. “I love you, Penny. God
damn
it, I love you.”

She was sleeping. She couldn’t even hear him, but it was better that way. Never once had Penny hinted at deeper emotions for him. Sure, she wanted a husband and a family of her own, but she’d never suggested that Joe might be part of that picture. He was just the hunk next door, a convenient screw, the man she’d taken as a lover to reawaken her sexuality.

And he’d fretted that he would end up breaking her heart! How ironic was it that he was the one with his heart in his throat, his chest swollen with feelings he’d never felt before?

With a despairing groan, Joe closed his eyes. At least time was on his side. He had to convince Penny that he was worth keeping. By hook or by crook, he would prove that he was a worthy future investment, not just the playboy bachelor next door.

“We need to do this more often,” Penny exclaimed, sitting at the table by the restaurant window. Lia sat down across from her. Beyond the window, the Elizabeth River glinted under a gray sky. The moored boats clanged and rocked in their berths. Seagulls hunkered on the docks, looking miserable in the chilly weather. “Do you always get an hour off for lunch?”

“As long as my story gets written,” said Ophelia, “I can take all the time I want.” Wearing a sherbet-colored blazer and winter-white slacks, she looked the part of a professional journalist. “What about you?” she asked. “When are you going back to work?”

“On Monday,” Penny said, glancing at the menu.

Lia frowned across the table at her. “Are you sure you’re ready to go back?”

Penny glanced up, surprised to hear worry in her little sister’s voice. “Of course I’m ready,” she soothed. “We can’t live the rest of our lives holed up out of fear. Besides, we have the Double D’s watching us like hawks.” She nodded toward a table by the door where their personal shadows, Don Dawes and Gary Dirks, sat down to order their own lunch. Both were U.S. Marshals, assigned to them by the FBI—no more state police for them now that the FBI had a true case. “How much safer can we be?”

“Yeah, but it bugs that hell out of me that the ricin killer hasn’t been caught yet,” Lia grumbled. “The bastard deserves to be strung up by his testicles.”

“Lia!” Penny laughed.

“Well, he does. And when he’s caught, Hannah needs to give Joe a moment alone with him.”

“Hmmm,” said Penny, “somehow I think he’d enjoy that.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed you two are spending an awful lot of time together,” Lia fished.

“Do you want to split an appetizer?” Penny asked, steering the conversation to safer ground. Joe had been awfully attentive since the incident—so wonderful and smart and handy that it was scaring the daylights out of her. She found herself relying on him way too much for her happiness these days. She’d decided to take drastic measures to avoid the inevitable heartache.

“Go ahead,” taunted Lia, “just ignore what you don’t want to face. You always have. Let’s try the stuffed crab shells.”

“Oh, that does sound good.”

“Anyway,” Lia added, drumming her fingers on the table, “I have a surprise to show you.”

Penny glanced up from studying the entrées. “What is it?” Coming from Lia, she knew it was going to be a doozy.

“Ahem,” said Lia, indicating her left hand, the one that was drumming the table.

There on her fourth finger glinted the loveliest little diamond that Penny’d ever seen. “Oh, my God!” she cried out, grabbing her sister’s hand and pulling it closer. “It’s in the shape of a heart! Oh, I love it! When did he propose?”

As Lia launched into a detailed account of an evening cruise on the
Norfolk Star,
Penny struggled to contain her envy. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought Lia would become engaged before her.
She
was the one who’d wanted marriage and a family. Wild, irrepressible Lia would surely take a while to settle down.

But seeing the joy that danced in Lia’s eyes as she recounted how Vinny had gone down on his knees, right there in the crowded dining hall, where every passenger on board bore witness to his vulnerability, all trace of envy disappeared. This was what Penny had wanted for Lia for years: to be adored by the man she loved.

“Oh, honey,” she choked out, “I’m so happy for you.”

They embraced over a carnation bouquet, then dabbed their tears with the cloth napkins as they sat back down.

“So, here’s the deal,” said Lia, sending her an apologetic look. “I won’t be here for Thanksgiving.”

“Oh,” said Penny, feeling privately relieved.

“I’m going with Vinny to Philadelphia to meet his mother and sister.”

“Oh, boy.” Penny could tell she was daunted by the encounter to come.

“What if his mother hates me?” Lia cried. “You know how mothers are with their sons.”