Double Jeopardy (Entangled Select) (20 page)

The moment he walked in the front door and found her sitting on his couch, he knew this was the showdown.

“Hello, darling, you’ve been so curious about my identity that I decided to surprise you,” she greeted him cheerfully. “Now that you have that slut out of your system, maybe you’ll realize I’m the only woman you need.”

Josh couldn’t say one word to dispute her claim. The manic gleam in her eye and the way she held the handgun told him she was past listening. Even more than that, he felt sorrow over her being a woman he’d once admired so much.

“We broke up,” he told her, as he sat on the chair next to the couch. There was no way he wanted to be any closer to her. “The weekend proved what a superficial woman Lauren is.”

She laughed. “Oh, darling, I could have told you long ago how false Celia was, but you wouldn’t have believed me. Just as long as you’ve come back to me. That’s all that counts.” She continued smiling. “We’re going to be so happy together.”

…

Lauren remained very still as she heard the click of the disconnected call. It wasn’t until a moment later she realized that she heard a softly distinct second click right after Josh had hung up. That was why he’d spoken so harshly. Someone had listened in on the call.

She started to grab for the phone again, then hesitated. What if this had pushed the woman over the edge? What if the sight of police at Josh’s house had upset her so much she’d resorted to violence?

“Take deep breaths, Lauren,” she ordered herself. “And think.”

She quickly topped her jeans with a bulky pullover sweater that covered her gun when she stuck it in her waistband. Her hands shook so much as she pulled her hair back in a tight braid, it took several tries, but she kept focusing on what was ahead.

“I’ve run enough. I’m not running from this,” she murmured, as she climbed in her car. While she backed out, Kevin’s car and the crime scene van showed up.

“I have to run an errand,” she told him.

“Wait a minute!” He grabbed hold of the door handle.

She shook her head. “I’ll be back soon.”

Kevin wasn’t convinced. “What’s up, Lauren? You’re as white as a ghost.”

“You would be, too, if you saw your entire wardrobe ruined. Even if the blood could come out completely, I wouldn’t want any of it. I’ve got to go. You know the alarm code. Go on in.” She stepped on the gas and he quickly stepped back.

“I still don’t believe you!” he shouted after her.

Lauren took a roundabout route to Josh’s house and made sure to park her car down the street, out of sight. She crept up the yard near the garage, where there were no windows. She eased her way into the garage and made her way to the back door, praying it was unlocked. Holding her breath, she carefully twisted the knob and pushed the door open by increments until there was a space wide enough for her to squeeze through.

“You did what?” She heard Josh’s raised voice coming from what she thought might be the living room. “Why did you destroy her clothing?”

“Darling, she had to be taught a lesson. Nothing I’d done so far had accomplished anything.”

Lauren caught the sob traveling up her throat. She knew the voice. Then she quickly caught herself. She knew that in order to succeed, she would have to remain cool. Because if she failed, both she and Josh would become victims of a woman whose identity would never be revealed. She took several deep breaths and hoped she didn’t look as frightened as she felt. Before she could lose her nerve, she stepped into the room. The two inhabitants abruptly stopped talking and turned to face her. Josh looked ill, while the woman with him looked furious.

“Hello, Josh, I’m sorry to be barging in like this, but you refused to talk to me on the phone, and I felt we needed to have a talk face-to-face.” She turned to face the other occupant, who stood stock still, staring at Lauren with malevolent hatred etched coarsely on her face. “Hello, Gail.”

Chapter Twenty

Gail’s face turned red with fury. “What are you doing here?”

Lauren tried to sound nonchalant. “I told you. I thought Josh and I should talk face-to-face.” She took a few more steps into the room. For now, she kept her attention on Gail and the handgun lying in her lap, instead of on Josh. He stared at her with a look that told her how crazy she was to be doing this. “You should realize that blood isn’t going to upset me the way it might other women. After all, I see it in my work all the time.”

Gail’s smile was too broad, too bright. “Yes, I was proud of that.”

“Did you use animal blood? Something that wouldn’t be easily traced?”

“You didn’t think I’d use my own, did you?” Her laughter was high-pitched, with traces of hysteria. “I was amazed how some of the material just soaked it up. You’re going to have to come up with a good story at the dry cleaners.” She glanced quickly at Josh as he sat forward. Her face softened and she gazed at him with the look of a woman in love. An insane woman.

“You gave me an excellent reason to go shopping.” Lauren moved slowly, edging to the side until she could lean against the wall. A covert glance downward told her that her gun couldn’t be detected under her sweater.

“You’ve lost this time, Celia,” Gail told her. “I want you to just go away so Josh and I can be alone. You’ll find another man. You always do.” Bitterness scored her words.

“What if I don’t want to go away? Why should it be me? After all, Josh chose me, not
you
.” She knew she had to tread carefully in her goading, but she sensed it was the only way she’d learn anything.

“Only because he didn’t realize how much I really cared for him.” Her breathing grew labored as she grappled with unseen demons. “You can’t always win, Celia.”

Josh tried to catch Lauren’s eye, but she was afraid to look at him. She had to keep her attention on Gail.

“Sure, I can. I did before, didn’t I?” She straightened up and slowly walked toward Gail. She wasn’t sure if this was the time to push it more, but she felt she had to do something. “A lot of times, haven’t I, Gail? Don’t you think it’s a bit odd that I always get the men? That every man wanted me more than they wanted you?” She swung her hips just a bit as she walked.

Gail’s lips drew back. “You bitch, you evil-hearted bitch! You always said that, but we knew it was only because you’d put out for them. Whether it was in the back seat of their car or some sleazy motel, you’d just spread your legs and let them fuck you!” She jumped up. “I told Michael all about you, did you know that? I told him, but he didn’t believe me, even when I gave him names and places. He still wanted to marry you, even when I told him how much I loved him. Wasn’t it a shame the wedding had to be canceled?”

“You’re sick, Gail. You need help.” Josh spoke before he could realize the words could turn into a deadly trigger.

She spun around. “You’re just listening to her again. You need to listen to me!” Her scream echoed in the room. “She’s evil, a poison that will eat you alive! Why won’t you listen to me? I want us to have a life together, Josh. Because I won’t let her have you the way she’s had all the others!” She blindly lifted her gun, aiming it at him.

Lauren didn’t think; she only reacted. Calling on the self-defense techniques Ron drummed into her, she launched herself at Gail, grabbing her gun arm and forcing the barrel upward. The shot embedded itself in the ceiling as the two women fell to the carpet.

“Lauren!” Josh jumped up, but knew he was powerless to help her. He kept an eye on the gun in case he had the chance to kick it out of the way.

“No!” Gail felt the hard bulge at Lauren’s waist and pulled out the gun. “You always cheat!” She aimed it at her head.

Only by turning away did Lauren evade a direct blow, but she still was dazed by it. Ignoring the ringing in her ears and dazed vision, she fought back as hard as she could. She jabbed Gail in the nose, wincing when blood spurted.

“You can’t win again! You can’t!” Gail wailed, hitting and kicking violently. “I won’t let you!”

Lauren had no idea it was coming until it was almost too late.

Gail suddenly scooted back with her gun in her hand aimed at Lauren. Except just as suddenly, she turned and shot at Josh instead.

“No!” Lauren scrambled for her weapon and shot without hesitation.

Gail’s eyes widened with horror as she looked down and saw the blood spreading across her shoulder.

“It’s not fair,” she sobbed, rocking back and forth. “It’s not fair.”

Lauren crawled over to Josh, who lay back dazed.

“Shit,” she hissed, pulling off her sweater and balling it up to use as a pressure bandage against the wound in his chest.

“Is that a good shit or a bad one?” he panted, wincing as she carefully laid him on his back. “Basically, I’m asking if you’re saying I’m going to end up in your playpen.”

She gulped in air. “Not if I have anything to say about it. But you have to lay still, Josh.” She looked blindly around the room for a phone, then spied it. “I’ve got to call for an ambulance.”

“What about Gail?”

Lauren spared the woman a glance. She now lay in a fetal position, staring at her bloodstained hands.

“She won’t be any trouble.”

As she punched out 911, she heard sirens in the distance. “Maybe someone heard the shots and called the police. Or Kevin figured out what errand I was running.” She quickly relayed the necessary information to the 911 dispatch and ran back to Josh. Tears ran freely down her cheeks. “You’re not going to die, Josh. Not now.”

“I thought I had six months.” His voice was much weaker.

“I think that’s just been shortened a great deal.” She carefully lifted him in her arms and checked the bandage.

He coughed. “Hell, you mean all I had to do was get shot? There’s one more thing.”

“Anything.”

“That’s something else I’ll remember.” His chest rose and fell in erratic beats. “Would you please go in my closet and put on one of my shirts before they show up. While I like you wearing that next-to-
nothing you call a bra, there’s no reason for you to share the wealth with the other guys.” He managed a feeble smile. “You know, Kevin’s going to be really pissed he missed out on this.”

Lauren couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. So she did both, cradling Josh in her arms, unaware he’d passed out.

Epilogue

“I am still pissed at you guys for pulling this without me.” Kevin dropped a box of candy on Josh’s bed tray. “I go to all that trouble to find out Heather and Stephanie weren’t the ones and that Mitzi wasn’t even close to being the right one, and you two have to go out and have all the fun.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t a party I’d repeat.” He winced as he groped for the bed controls and punched the button to raise the bed. “Have you talked to Lauren?”

He shook his head. “She wanted to meet with the doctors who examined Gail. She barely gave me enough time to take her statement. She’s one good shot. I’m positive she really wanted to shoot Gail through the heart but didn’t. I hope you remember that.” His light-colored eyes darkened with concern. “You okay?”

“I was shot in the chest, my lung collapsed, and they said if Lauren hadn’t put on a pressure bandage, I probably would have died. I’ve got stitches that are already itching, a catheter stuck up in me that’s embarrassing as hell, a night nurse who belongs in a horror film, and I feel like shit. What does that tell you?”

“If you can complain that much, you’re obviously getting better.” Lauren breezed in and walked over to give Josh a kiss. “Patients always get cranky when they’re feeling better. Although you still haven’t gotten back all your color to my satisfaction.” She gave him another kiss for good measure. “Mmm, you’re doing much better.”

“Hearing that from you isn’t all that comforting, Doc. You only deal with dead people.” He gestured toward his friend. “Kevin’s still pissed he was left out of the shootout.”

“He’ll get over it.” She smiled at the detective, but the gesture was strained.

Josh didn’t miss it. “How is she?”

Lauren carefully sat on the edge of Josh’s bed. “She’s lost in her own world. Her family arrived today, along with her sister, Celia. They were able to fill in the blanks about Gail’s behavior. Celia’s a couple of years older, very beautiful, hair almost the color of mine,” she clarified the reason why Gail had fixated her hate on her. “And Gail always felt second best because Celia was head cheerleader, homecoming queen, and very popular in school. Celia said Gail’s behavior was explained away as simple sibling jealousy until the girls got older. Gail started out by ‘accidentally’ spilling ink on Celia’s prom formal and forgetting phone messages from her boyfriends. Then Celia fell in love and became engaged to a boy that Gail suddenly decided she loved and wanted. Gail spread ugly rumors about Celia, but her fiancé didn’t believe them.” Lauren sighed. “Two days before the wedding, he was in a bad car accident that left him paralyzed. He couldn’t handle the idea of spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair, so he killed himself. Two weeks later, Gail left town. Although the family strongly felt she was behind his accident, they couldn’t prove anything. They haven’t spoken until now. They didn’t even know she was working as a police officer.”

“Maybe this was for the best,” Kevin consoled. “Internal Affairs is checking her out further by looking into unsolved crimes in the cities she’d worked before. Who knows if she’d done this in the past.” He looked from one to the other. “Besides, because of her, you two got together probably faster than you might have.”

Lauren smiled at Josh. “Yes, we are together, but it’s a shame it’s at another’s expense.”

Josh reached out for her hand. “Kevin, can you get lost?”

He stood up. “I still need your statement, now that you’re awake enough to give one.”

“Tomorrow.” He didn’t take his eyes off Lauren.

“This afternoon?” The detective persisted.

“Tomorrow.”

Lauren looked at Kevin. “Come back this afternoon. Josh has to learn he can’t get his way all the time.”

“So far, I haven’t gotten my way once,” Josh grumbled.

“Sure you have. I gave up on the six-month limit, didn’t I?”

“So it wasn’t my imagination? You really did say that? It wasn’t loss of blood that had me thinking the impossible. You actually changed your mind.”

She edged herself closer. “I said that and a lot more, but you were unconscious by then, and I’m beginning to think it was a good idea you were. In fact, once you’re out of the hospital, I’ll prove to you just what I did say.”

“You know, Doc, something tells me this is going to turn into quite a relationship.”

She leaned closer until her lips touched his. “Oh, Counselor, you haven’t seen the half of it yet.”

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