Crashed (17 page)

“Yeah?” Avery answered his phone, anxiously awaiting the newest update on Jared.

“He’s at work still. His car hasn’t moved from the hospital parking lot yet. But when it does, we will be following it,” Denton answered. “I have my connection in the lab working double time on those samples as a favor, but I don’t have anything to go on yet, Martin.” The reality of the situation still remained, until they had the actual DNA connection to the blood and evidence inside Emily’s apartment from the break in. There was nothing the police could actually do until he was caught breaking the law under their watch. Avery just prayed he was stupid enough to get caught.

“I’m out of here at seven. I’ll touch base with you then,” Avery said before the call ended. His phone buzzed once again with a text from Emily.

Home. Alarm on. What time will you be home?

He quickly answered to help put her anxiety at bay.

Shortly after 7pm. Love you. Be safe.

Gran and Emily moved through the kitchen with skill, working side-by-side to make dinner, seemingly without a care in the world. Emily had come home and locked up exactly like Avery had instructed, but she wasn’t about to tell Gran what the day had brought. She wanted Avery to have the honor of dishing the baby news.

Six-thirty rolled around and she knew Avery would be home soon, so without thinking twice, she turned the alarm off and made her way to unlock the back deck doors. They had discussed their safety plan and instead of using the front door, they would use the deck at all times until Jared wasn’t a threat. That way they could see anyone who stood on the other side of the doors.

The only worry Emily had about the deck was the amount of glass which could easily be broken. She had always wanted to replace the doors, but it had never been her place, since it was her parents’ home. It would take away from the
beach
charm as well.

A short time later Gran retreated to her bedroom while the chicken baked in the oven and Emily ran to the bathroom. She had known of her pregnancy for a whole eight hours and her bladder had already shrunk to the size of a pea. The flash of headlights in the driveway alerted her to Avery’s homecoming. He was a little bit early, but there was no doubt Captain Sullivan was in on the events of their day. He certainly had a soft spot for her for some unknown reason.

While Emily stood at the sink washing her hands, her phone buzzed in her pocket, signaling a text.

Leaving work now. See you soon.

Avery’s message instantly made her blood run cold. Whoever was parked in her driveway wasn’t Avery.
Fuck!

She stood up on the toilet, peering out the window only to see a white Acura sports car parked in her driveway. A car that was not familiar to her at all. Instead of texting Avery back, she immediately dialed Detective Denton in a panic.

On the second ring he answered, “Emily?” Denton asked through the line.

“Detective. There is a suspicious white Acura parked in my driveway. Avery isn’t home yet and the alarm system is off. Can you please come check this out?” She slowly unlocked the door while Denton kept her on the line.

“I’m on my way, and I am calling Ponce Inlet police now on the radio. Stay on the line with me.” He instructed as she heard his sirens come to life.

Emily slowly walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway leading to Gran’s bedroom. That was when his voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

“You thought I would just let you go? You thought you could go on and have a happily ever after with someone else?”

Detective Denton frantically spoke to her on the line, “Emily? Who is there? EMILY! SPEAK TO ME!” he yelled, his voice becoming louder with each word as she stood with her back toward the voice frozen in horror.

This was it, the end of her life. There was no way Jared was going to let her walk away from him. After the murderous look on his face earlier in the afternoon, this would be the end of the road for her. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably and her cell phone fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

Jared’s footsteps came closer as she continued to stand still, careful not to make any sudden movements as she lifted her arms into the air, signaling a truce.

“Jared, I don’t know what you want from me, but you’re scaring me.” She slowly turned to face him, tears falling from her eyes. “You walked away from me years ago. You left me. I was broken for a long time.” Her sobs got louder as he watched her suspiciously.

“I didn’t want to, Emily. But he made me. He made me do it. He covered it all up. He held it over my head,” Jared rambled on, and that was when Emily saw it for the first time. The large butcher knife that was missing from her kitchen after her apartment had been broken into was in Jared’s hand. His white knuckles gripped the black handle as the steel blade waved in the air.

“I had no choice Emily. I didn’t mean to do it! I didn’t mean to do any of it!” His words got louder until he was shouting at her. “I DIDN’T WANT TO KILL THEM! IT WAS A GODDAMN ACCIDENT!” His words made no sense. Emily continued to watch him.

“Jared, who? What are you talking about?” she asked in a caring and sympathetic tone. Maybe if he believed she was on his side, he would let her go free without hurting her.

“Your parents, you dumb bitch!” He ran his free hand through his dark hair as he started to pace back and forth in her hallway.

“I didn’t mean to do it! I panicked and that’s why I walked away. I couldn’t look you in the eye knowing
he
would never let me tell you how he covered it up.” A tear started forming in Jared’s eye as he continued to relieve his conscience. He mumbled to himself before he looked up to meet Emily’s eyes.

“Jared, we can get through this. Talk about it. Please just tell me who made you do this?” She prayed her desperation and fake sincerity would hold him in his place until someone came to her rescue.

“BEN! Ben covered it all up!” His arms started waving in the air again, flashing the knife into her view once again. Her stomach churned, as her heart jumped into her throat. She was going to be sick. She was going to vomit right there in the hallway and leave herself even more vulnerable for him to hurt her.

He started walking toward Emily, slowly just like one of those serial killers on the big screen. One step at a time, taunting her with his speed, or lack-there-of.

“Fuck! I have already told you way too much. FUCK!” he yelled. Only a few feet separated their bodies. With each step he took, Emily slowly started to back up, until she hit the wall with a thud.

“I’m sorry, my love, but I just can’t let you go,” he whispered as he continued toward her, lifting the knife from his side.

“I suggest you back the fuck up, Boy.” Gran’s voice broke the silence as she cocked the shotgun in her arms, the chilling sound echoing through the first floor of the house.

Emily eyed Gran standing behind Jared with a giant shotgun pointed at his back.

“Drop the knife!” she demanded. His arm slowly lifted into the air, still holding onto the knife before turning toward her voice. He stood with the knife in his hand, eyeing the old lady.

“I told you, boy. Drop the damn knife,” she demanded once again, moving the barrel of the gun so it squared with his face.

The knife fell to the floor as Jared continued to stare at Gran. To her right hand side, she noticed a large vase her mother had given her for a housewarming gift when she moved into her first apartment. She remembered how much Jared loved it, as a flood of memories washed over her. Jared’s friendship with Ben, Ben being missing the night their parents had died, Jared turning up the morning after their death unable to look her in the eye—everything of their relationship rained down on her absent mind.

Without thinking twice, she grabbed the bulky white vase and ran, crashing it into the back of his unsuspecting head. His body fell forward, face first onto her hardwood floor with a loud crash. Gran followed his body with the barrel of the shotgun, as Emily leaned in closer to examine his eyes.

A loud crash startled both women when the front door was kicked in.

“DAYTONA BEACH POLICE!” Denton’s voice echoed through the first floor of the house as relief finally started washing over her.

Emily took a few steps backward before falling to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and slowly began to sob. Gran called out to the police officer in the distance.

“Over here.” She placed her shotgun down on the floor, backing away from Jared slowly while putting her hands up in the air with caution. Denton rounded the corner to see Jared on the floor as Emily rocked back and forth sobbing in the corner of the scene. She mumbled under her breath as she cried for her mother.

“This son-of-a-bitch had her at knife point.” Gran started to explain as Denton radioed for backup and two uniformed Ponce Inlet police walked in the door. The officers swarmed the scene, handcuffing Jared before radioing for an ambulance.

Emily’s mind ran wild with the thoughts of his words. He had killed her parents? He had been the asshole behind the wheel of that car that evening? And what exactly did Ben have to do with any of it? Nothing made sense, none of it. He had only left her with more questions.

He wouldn’t stop talking, though, thinking back to just a moment ago when she lunged at him with the vase. It wasn’t about stopping him from hurting her, or hurting Gran. But it was revenge. She wanted him to hurt as bad as she did the night she learned of her parents’ death. She wanted him to live in the pain she had the past weeks, she wanted him to be afraid like her, looking over her shoulder everywhere she went because he’d become such a threat to her. Her days of being sad and helpless morphed into raw, primal rage. She’d never ever been this mad. It was like he had reached down into the bowels of hell and brought something out of her she’d never had the displeasure of feeling before.

She’d snapped, lunging the vase at his head as hard as she could. It took every ounce of strength she could muster up, but it had accomplished everything she wanted. Hurting him in a way he would never forget. If she could have gotten away with killing him like he got away with killing her parents, she would have, right there with innocent ol’ Gran watching her every move.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Boomed Avery’s voice from the front door as his footsteps pounded through the house. The uniformed police officers swiftly moved toward him in an attempt to stop him before Denton spoke up and they retreated.

Emily continued to sit on the floor, back against the wall, rocking back and forth. Avery knelt down in front of her and pushed her disheveled hair out of her face. He cupped her chin, lifting her vision to his green eyes. When her baby blues connected with his concerned eyes, her arms instinctively released her knees and reached for Avery.

“I’m here, Baby. It’s okay. It’s all okay. It’s over.” He sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap. Her body curled into the fetal position as he ran his hands down her back with reassurance. All he could do was hold her and try to make everything okay, even if it wasn’t.

***

“We’re going to be taking him to the station. We would like Miss Taylor, your Gran, and you to come along, Avery.” Denton snapped Avery back to reality. Emily looked up at the officer and stood from the comfort of her lover’s lap. The strength of this woman would never cease to amaze him. After the evening she had, to just jump up and put on a brave face so she could take care of business. Emily Taylor was something else.

Avery eyed the mess of glass all over the hallway, catching Emily’s attention as she headed for the kitchen to grab her car keys and purse. “Leave it, Avery. We’ll worry about it later.” She dismissed the mess. Her heart ached at the loss of such a precious gift from her mother, but she could have sworn she heard her mother egg her on in a desperate attempt to take further control of the situation.

Walking down the steps into the driveway, the unfamiliar white Acura sports car was being placed on a flatbed. Avery stopped, taking in the details of the car before he turned to Detective Denton who was scribbling some notes down in a small notebook next to his unmarked police cruiser.

“Why is Quinn Daniel’s car in the driveway?” he questioned Denton.

“That’s how Hart made it past us at the hospital. Apparently some nurse let him take her car, not knowing his plans. He slipped right past us, that son-of-a-bitch.” Avery stood in shock for a minute before turning back to the car and shaking his head.
What the hell does Quinn have to do with Jared?

“That’s Quinn’s car?” Emily’s voice snapped him back to Earth. A puzzled look spread across her face at the simple connection. Her mind was running wild behind her tired eyes.

“Yeah, it is,” Avery answered her simply before they continued to Emily’s car. Gran sat in the front seat next to Avery. Emily huddled into the backseat, unable to get behind the wheel of her own car. Her mind continued in overtime, when something hit her like a ton of bricks. Amelia. Oh, God, what would her sister do? She pulled her iPhone out of her bag and called her, repeatedly ringing the phone until she finally picked up.

“What, Ems? I’m busy.” Her tone was harsh, distressed, and she could sense a hint of sadness. Was Ben there with her? Did he know what Jared had confessed?

“Amelia, listen to me. This is extremely important. Do not let Ben know or let on that anything is wrong. Get in your car, and meet me at the Ponce Inlet police station, now. I will tell you everything when you get here. Please, hurry.” Just like that, Emily disconnected the phone, praying she would listen to her baby sister for once instead of her dick wad, two timing husband.

***

Gran, Avery, Emily, and Amelia sat on the other side of the privacy glass in the police station. On the other side, Jared sat alone in a plastic chair at an empty table, handcuffs still holding his hands together, only in front of his body now. The whole scene reminded Emily of
Castle
. She loved the crime drama, but never wanted to find herself smack dab in the middle of one as long as she lived.

Emily and Amelia held each other’s hands tightly, without speaking a word. They didn’t need to talk to communicate everything transpiring between them. For years Ben had poisoned their relationship, a bond that had once been so tight. Detective Denton and another detective walked into the interrogation room. They all collectively held their breath, waiting to see what would transpire between Jared and the police.