Deceit (19 page)

Briefly I did. Melissa paced at the end of the beds, palms together and pressed against her mouth. When I told Perry about the break-in at my house, she came to a stop and glared at me. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“You need to call the police,” Perry said.

“I—”

“No!” Melissa shook her head furiously. “She calls the police, and I’m out of here right now. The first thing they’ll do is take us down to the station and try to force me to tell what I know. And I’ll never do it. I’d be dead before they even tried to do a thing to Baxter.”

I knew she meant it. Melissa could run again at any time. How would I ever convince her to change her mind? “You hear her?” I spoke into the phone.

“I heard. No police.” He paused. “I’ll come get you.”

“But your store—”

“I’ll close early.”

Melissa thrust herself toward me. “He’s not coming with cops!”

“No, he’s—”

“Melissa!” Frustration coated Perry’s voice. I held the speakerphone toward her.

“You’re
not
bringing cops.” Fire blazed in her eyes.

“I hear you, already.”

“I swear if you show up with them, I’ll deny I ever said anything about Baxter.”

“Melissa,
chill out
. I’m coming by myself.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“And you’re welcome.”

She puffed out a martyr’s sigh.

“Nice companion you’ve got there, Joanne,” Perry said.

Melissa rolled her eyes and turned away.

“So tell me where you are.”

I told him.

“Okay, I’ll leave right now.
Stay in your room.
”

I calculated how long it would take Perry to make the drive.

“Thanks, Perry. Thank you so much.”

“Just one more day in my exciting life.” He hung up.

I threw the cell phone back into my purse and faced Melissa. “He’s trying to help, you know. He doesn’t have to do this.”

Her expression flattened. She licked her lips. “I know. It’s just…We almost got killed. And it’s all because of Baxter. I don’t want anything to
do
with his problems. For six years I’ve tried to forget what happened, but it never goes away. I just
want to live my life
.”

A new wave of tiredness hit. I just wanted to live my life too. Imagine what it must be like for someone as young as Melissa to carry such a burden.

“You will, Melissa. You will.”

She brushed aside my platitudes and headed for her purse. Pulled out her cell phone. “I have to call a friend. I was supposed to meet her tomorrow for breakfast.” Melissa’s hardened tone had returned—a reminder to me that I’d thoroughly messed up her life. “I’ll think of some excuse.” She walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I heard the dull
whir
of the fan come on.

I sank upon my bed and scooted up to lean against the headboard. Checked the clock. Five after eight. We had over an hour to wait for Perry.

THIRTY-EIGHT

JULY 2004

When to dive off a sinking ship? And where to go, except back to the shark-infested waters of Social Services? Did Melissa really think another foster home would be better than living with the Jacksons?

Maybe the ship wouldn’t totally sink after all, she told herself in the volatile days following July Fourth. Maybe only one end would, while her end tipped higher and safer than ever.

Besides, where would Melissa be without Baxter Jackson? Sure, the man had his faults. But he was her ticket to a career, a better, solid life. A magnificent life. And there was more. He’d gotten under her skin, piercing like a long, fine sliver. There was no pulling him out, not now. They worked together well; they understood each other. Melissa recognized the need for power and control in him and knew he saw the same in her. She had one thing Linda lacked—backbone. Baxter admired Melissa for that. She was sure of it. Instead of trying to dominate her, he now seemed to revel in displaying his domination of Linda in her presence.

The more their bond grew, the harsher Baxter treated his wife.

Melissa did nothing to stop him. How could she? When he lashed out at Linda, Melissa somehow managed to fade from the scene. But she walked a balance beam. It was not in her best interest to lose Linda’s trust, even as Melissa built her loyalty to Baxter. When she and Linda were alone, Melissa oozed sympathy for the woman. As a result Linda began to lean on Melissa as the one person she could talk to, while she kept up appearances with everyone else.

Clever Baxter made his wife’s charade easy. Melissa soon saw his strategy: never punch where someone would see a bruise. It was always in the head, or Linda’s side or back. If he slapped her face it was a controlled hit, leaving red fingerprints that didn’t last long.

July roiled on.

The temperature was hot—high nineties. Sunny day after sunny day, beating down on Vonita. Melissa thrived in it. The days energized her, the sizzling outside matching her sizzling inside. She lay out in a bikini in the backyard on weekends, her skin turning a deep brown. Feeling Baxter’s eyes on her body.

Linda stayed out of the heat.

She didn’t see her friends much anymore, as far as Melissa knew. Linda had even drawn away from Joanne Weeks. Instead she read a lot. Found projects to do in the house. She remodeled the guestroom and bought expensive new drapes and a Persian rug for the dining area. She potted plants and set them around the kitchen and den, throwing out the old ones. Linda took Melissa shopping for clothes, both of them buying lavishly. Spending was the one way Linda could get back at her husband.

Not that Melissa could complain about that. By now she had a designer wardrobe to die for. Shoes and handbags to match. Her skin looked perfect, thanks to the expensive moisturizers and toners. Her makeup was all MAC, with just about every eye shadow color the company made. Linda had even bought her professional lessons on how to apply makeup. Melissa had never looked better in her life.

Baxter didn’t miss that fact either. He didn’t say it but Melissa knew.

“You know why he’ll never complain about my spending?” Linda told Melissa as they drove home from the mall one Saturday. Melissa was behind the wheel. She loved driving the BMW. “His own ego. How could Baxter Jackson ever admit he didn’t make enough to keep his family happy?”

Melissa nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” She focused on the road, picturing Baxter, how he looked at her. The man was being eaten alive inside. What a dupe Linda was. Baxter paid the bills out of sheer guilt.

At the real estate office Melissa’s job remained busy. She arranged open houses, answered phone calls, learned all she could. But Baxter’s sales were way down for the month, even as the other realtors did well in the booming housing market. No reason the streak of bad luck should last. Baxter kept telling her this was the way business went. You had your good months and your bad months. He’d been through the cycle plenty of times. Sales would start going up; he was convinced of that.

Better start going up fast, Melissa thought. Bills rising and income falling. Not a good combination.

Besides, Melissa knew better than to think rising sales would calm Baxter down.

And so the three of them played their game. Baxter walked his unsteady line between wife and foster daughter. Melissa trod her own between husband and wife. And Linda pretended to the outside world more than ever.

Melissa tried hard to keep her mind focused—and succeeded most of the time. But in her moments of doubt she told herself this house of cards couldn’t last.

One day it was bound to come tumbling down.

THIRTY-NINE

FEBRUARY 2010

By 8:40 Melissa and I had been waiting for Perry for over half an hour. We’d said little, ears attuned to any sound in the hallway. Melissa had resumed pacing. Her nervous movements were about to drive me crazy. I slumped on my bed, nerves humming.

Melissa turned to me abruptly. “I thought you called yourself a Christian.”

I blinked. “I
am
a Christian.”

“Then why do you lie?”

“I don’t.”

“You lied to
me
.”

“Well, I…Sometimes in my work I have to.”

“Uh-huh.” She shifted her weight, hands on her hips. “Is that what the Bible says—don’t lie except when you ‘have to’?”

I surveyed her, my tongue stuck out against my top lip. “I had to find you, Melissa.”

“Don’t rationalize. I
hate
that. People rationalized to me my entire life. My mother had a reason to drink. She beat me for good reason—I was in her way. My stepfather raped me with good reason—I was
there
. Baxter hit Linda with good reason—she took it.”

“But you’re talking about
lifestyles
. I don’t make a habit of lying. It’s only once in a while. To locate someone. For a good cause.”

“So the end justifies the means.”

Her sarcastic words dug into me. “How dare you put me in the same category as Baxter! Don’t forget he wants us dead. Do you know he came to my house today, with Pastor Steve as a witness, to try to make amends, like a good Christian man? He played his part to the hilt. He’s nothing but a total hypocrite.”

“Not total. He
does
help people in the church. He
does
help the town. And I worked with him, so I know how honest he is with his clients.”

What was
this
? What happened to Baxter ruining her life? “You’re forgetting the part about beating his wife. Hard enough one night that he killed her. At least I’m assuming that’s what happened.”

“He did hit Linda. I saw him. You can bet he hit his second wife too.”

“Then—”

“That’s his weakness. Control. And yes, he lies about it to the world. And Linda lied by covering up for him. So in the end she was no better. And
you
lie too.”

My spine wrenched straight. “And what exactly have
you
done for six years? Lied by your silence. You’ve let a cold-blooded killer get away with Linda’s death!”

Melissa’s eyes grew hard. “There’s one difference, Joanne. Between you and Baxter and Linda—and me.
I
don’t call myself a Christian.”

Her accusation stung me to the core. I stared at her, open-mouthed, wanting to defend myself. No words would come.

Melissa watched the emotions play across my face, her mouth twisting in grim satisfaction. With a shake of her head she turned away and resumed pacing. “Little wonder I rejected everything I heard in that church.”

That was a rationalization itself, and she knew it. “Christians aren’t perfect, Melissa. God is. Don’t judge him by our shortcomings.”

She threw me a look—
yeah, right.

I dropped my head into one hand. Rubbed my temple. Her words still burned.

Long minutes ticked by. Melissa and I did not speak. Eventually she sank onto the edge of her bed. She stared at the wall, the blank TV. Who knew where her thoughts now took her?

Mine remained on my seared conscience until I wrenched them away.

They eventually cycled back to the gunman. Was he at the hospital? If his shot was a flesh wound he could be here by now, just waiting for us to show ourselves. Or did Baxter have other people working for him?

Why was he pursuing Melissa now, after six years?

“Where is she, Melissa? Where’s Linda?”

Melissa shook her head, stubbornness thinning her mouth.

“You need to tell me! Don’t you care what happened to Linda? Don’t you want him to
pay
?”

She whirled on me. “No, I
don’t
care! Like I told you, I just want to live my life!”

“You have to care. You can’t be that hard.”

“Don’t you judge me.” Her voice steeled. “You have
no idea
how that night has haunted me. If I’m hard, it’s because life’s made me that way.”

“It’s haunted you because you’ve run from it. Deal with it. Tell what you know. Your conscience will be clear.”

“If I live that long!” She turned away from me, furious. Seconds later, the anger seemed to seep right out of her, air from a pricked balloon. Her shoulders slumped, and she dropped her head.

“Going to live with Baxter and Linda was the one break in my life.” Melissa spoke to the floor. “When I started working in his office, I thought I could take on the world. I’d be an agent too someday. I’d make millions.
Be
somebody. Then it all fell apart. Linda was killed, and Social Services took me away. They sent me to a horrible foster home. I lasted there one week before running. I’ve been on my own ever since, just trying to make it. Couldn’t even graduate from high school. Living with this man and that one just so I could have a roof over my head.” Melissa shifted on her bed and looked me in the eye. “I thought the world of Baxter.”

My voice softened. “But how could you, when you knew he was hitting Linda?”

She shrugged. “I got beat all my life. It’s what men do.”

I thought of Tom. His smile, his quiet strength. The comfort of his arms.
Not all men, Melissa.

“Baxter turned on me after Linda’s death,” Melissa said. “Like everything was all
my
fault.”

“Probably because he knew you were a witness. Deceivers don’t like anyone who knows the truth about them.”

“I guess.” Another lift of her shoulder. “He made me hate him. For six years I’ve hated him. And now he’s trying to kill me. I won’t give him that satisfaction.” She pushed from the bed and went back to pacing. “
Where
is Perry?”

The clock read 8:55. “He’ll be here soon.”

I hoped.

Exhaustion washed over me. I wanted to curl up on the bed and sleep. Forget everything. What was I even doing here? Melissa was not going to change her mind about talking. Now with her life on the line she was more adamant than ever. Bottom line, she didn’t trust anyone to keep her safe until Baxter was behind bars. I could hardly blame her. Tonight, the minute Perry and I got her to safety, she’d run. And she’d go far, maybe even out of state. I wouldn’t be able to find her so easily next time.