Finding Justice (25 page)

Jay smiled. “Absolutely.”

He led the way from the cavern and they slowly made the descent
down over the rocks and onto solid ground. After much convincing that she and
Jay would come out of this alive, Marian and George walked away, arm in arm,
their black clothes still worrying Cat despite knowing there was nothing she
could do about them now.

Once they were out of sight, she turned to Jay. “Okay, let’s
ring Bennett.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? Wouldn’t it be better to
ring your boss and let him arrange for Bennett to be apprehended at the station
or something? God knows I’d love to take Bennett down ourselves, but I don’t
want any loopholes or lack of procedure to result in Bennett slipping through
the net.”

Cat shook her head. “That’s not going to happen, and we’re
doing this our way. I want to see his face when he realizes he’s going to spend
a long, long time behind bars, and so do you. Prison isn’t a good place for a
cop...” She grinned. “Which just breaks my heart.”

He smiled and brushed the hair from her eyes. “Then we’d better
make sure this goes well because if you come away with so much as a
scratch—”

“Oh, she’s going to come away with more than a scratch,
Garrett.”

Cat and Jay spun around.

Bennett stood just feet away from them, a maniacal smile
splitting his face. The gun he held pointed straight at Cat’s heart.

CHAPTER TWENTY

C
AT
COUNTED
HER
BREATHS
as Bennett strolled closer. Her body hummed
with adrenaline. She wasn’t afraid for herself, but for Jay. She couldn’t lose
him. Not now. Not when her entire life had shifted its pattern and happiness
lingered just beyond the horizon. They were unarmed and alone. Her gaze darted
to Bennett’s gun as he neared.

“Well, here we are.” Bennett’s eyes shone with malice. “You’ve
led me straight to the booty, Forrester. How do you feel?”

Cat swallowed, gripped Jay’s wrist as he moved to step forward.
“You’re insane if you think you can get away with this. You killed her. You
killed Sarah.”

He stopped in front of them, his six-foot-two stature and wide
shoulders suddenly larger than life. Cat resisted the urge to step back. His
eyes were ice-cold. His cheeks flushed and his jaw tight.

“It wasn’t me, Forrester.” His gaze cut to Jay. “It’s Mr.
Garrett who killed her. I knew it from the start.” His smile widened. “I told my
entire team from the very beginning he was our prime suspect. I brought you in
because you were his friend. Brought you in so I could keep a closer eye on him.
Ask my boss. He knew exactly what I was doing all the way through...and best of
all, he supported it.”

Jay stiffened. “You bastard. You set me up this entire
time?”

Cat grasped his wrist tighter, kept her gaze on Bennett and the
gun that didn’t even tremble in his hand. He was in control. No emotion swayed
his judgment. No regret blurred his conscience. If he released a bullet at this
close range...

Was he telling the truth? She looked to Jay. Hated the fear
crawling up her spine. The fear that Sarah hadn’t written that letter after all.
That someone else had. That Jay had. Had Jay been lying all this time? Had she’d
been blinded by love? She glanced at Bennett. At the gun now pointed at the man
she loved.

Her heart beating hard, she tugged on Jay’s wrist. “Jay, look
at me, not him.” Slowly, he dragged his gaze from Bennett. Cat swallowed past
the lump in her throat. “Is he lying?” Her voice didn’t waver.

He flinched like she slapped him clean across the face.
“What?”

Physical pain seared her heart but Cat tilted her chin. “Did
you kill Sarah?”

Hurt and disbelief flashed across his gaze before it changed to
anger and revulsion. “If you have to ask me that again—”

He tried to pull his hand from her grip, but Cat held fast.
“Answer me. I need to hear you say it. I need to look in your eyes when you
do.”

His gaze darted over her face, lingered at her mouth before he
looked directly into her eyes. “No, I didn’t kill Sarah. I loved her. She was my
friend. My best friend.”

Ignoring Bennett’s snort beside them, Cat drew in a long breath
and exhaled. “I believe you.”

“But you asked me, Cat. You actually asked me again.”

Cat turned away from his disappointment in his eyes, the look
that told her they would never get past this, that their short-lived happiness
had now died with Sarah. Three times she had asked him to confirm his innocence.
Three times. Anger and her breaking heart fueled a fury she’d never felt
before.

She trembled as she glared at Bennett. “You seriously think
this is going to happen? You’re going to frame Jay?”

“It is happening, you stupid girl.”

Cat shook her head. “You’re insane.”

Bennett grinned. “Why? You doubted him.”

A low rumble growled in Jay’s throat as he stepped forward.
“I’ll kill you myself, Bennett.”

Cat gripped his fingers and held on with all her strength.
“Jay, no. He wants this.”

He turned his glare on her and Cat’s heart completely broke.
Their love was over. “What’s he going to do? Shoot you? Me?”

“I—”

Bennett laughed and they snapped their heads around to face
him.

He grinned. “If that’s the way it has to be, I’ll kill the both
of you. Right here, right now. People know I’m watching you, Forrester. People
know I suspect Garrett. Now let’s cut the crap. Where’s the damn money?”

“It was you behind the phone calls? The torment?” Her body
trembled.

Bennett’s smile was wolverine-like. “I have people willing to
do anything for me, Forrester. Anything.”

“You make me sick.” Cat drew in a long breath through flared
nostrils in an attempt to keep her growing temper in check. She needed to keep
calm. She had to make Bennett mad enough to confess. To make him pay.

She leaned to the side and made a theatrical look past him. “No
backup cops with you, Bennett? Don’t you think it will look a bit suspicious if
Jay or I are found with a bullet in us on a beach supposedly crawling with
cops?”

His color darkened. “Where’s the money?”

Jay’s anger vibrated through her arm, his suppressed need to
pummel Bennett into the ground parallel to hers. She swallowed and prayed he let
her do her job. Let her do what she was trained to do and nail this killer’s ass
to the wall.

She stared at Bennett. “I thought you’d be more concerned about
what we found with the money rather than the money itself.”

“Enough with your pissing games, Forrester. Where is it?”

“Aren’t you going to ask who
Sarah
names as her killer?” Cat smiled. “Or do you already know? Sarah was an
intelligent girl and made sure she could speak to Jay or me from the grave. An
intelligent girl who made some naive decisions when she met and fell in love
with you. Her killer.”

The taut skin of his neck shifted once...twice. “You seriously
expect me to believe she says I killed her in some stupid make-believe letter?”
He smiled. “I don’t think so.”

“It’s there. I promise you. Best of all, she makes it clear
you’re capable of killing her. You’re now a prime suspect in a murder
investigation whether you like it or not. The superintendent’s going to be real
interested in what you have to say, don’t you think?”

The gun shook with a slight tremor and Cat’s heart picked up
speed. He was getting nervous. Mistakes were made and triggers pulled when
nervous people held guns. Jay shifted beside her and Bennett snapped the gun
toward him.

“Going somewhere, Garrett?”

“You’re not getting away with this.”

“Oh, I think I am. The most amazing things happen in this
world.”

Cat glared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He grinned and icy dread slipped down Cat’s spine. The power
was shifting. Bennett had every avenue covered and all she and Jay had was a
bundle of money and a letter. Bennett had contacts. Lifelong friends in the
force.

Jay released a low growl. “It’s over when one of us is dead,
Bennett. Whether it’s me or you.”

Bennett laughed, the gleam in his eyes shining brighter. “Ah,
Jay Garrett, the hero. The ex-junkie turned cop fucker.”

Jay was out of Cat’s grasp before she could react. “Jay, no!
Don’t.”

He charged at Bennett and clamped his arms around his target’s
waist, bringing him down hard onto the sand. Cat’s mind whirled as her body
froze. The gun. He had a gun. Bennett’s roar reverberated around them and Cat’s
heart leaped into her throat. She had to do something. Jay and Bennett blurred
into one as they struggled for supremacy. Grunts and pants emanated. Curses and
whacks of skin on skin thundered out into the quiet that just seconds before was
only broken by the crashing of waves and the screeching of seagulls.

Cat rushed forward as Bennett gained control, struggling with
the gun so close to Jay’s face her blood ran cold. “No!”

She fisted her hand into Bennett’s hair and yanked, but the
mania rushing through his blood held him fast. “Get off him. I’ll kill you,
Bennett. I swear to God.”

Jay managed to release one hand and threw his fist into the
side of Bennett’s face. The blow swung Bennett’s head to the side as though it
were attached to rubber. The gun flew from his hand and skittered across the
sand. Cat leaped after it, her heart racing.

She picked it up and turned. Bennett’s hands were around Jay’s
throat as Jay gripped him by the shoulders. Jay’s face was red, his eyes
bulging.

Peace and concentration settled over her as Cat planted her
legs wide apart. She held the gun aloft. “Release him, Bennett. Right now. It’s
over. I said...now.”

Bennett turned and smiled. “Say goodbye to your boyfriend,
Forrester.”

She narrowed her eyes and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit
his leg as a warning but Bennett merely flinched and continued to grip Jay’s
throat, choking the life from him, seemingly oblivious. Cat’s adrenaline soared.
The man was insane. She fired again, this time in his shoulder.

Blood sprayed as Bennett toppled backward, grasping his
shoulder. “You bitch. You fucking bitch.”

Time stood still. He collapsed and Jay rolled away from him,
his face and clothes spattered with blood. Cat’s gaze shifted to Bennett’s
writhing form and she held the gun straight out in front of her. The horror of
what he might have succeeded in doing to Jay passed through her mind in
sickening slow motion. Bennett could have killed him. Could’ve taken him as he
took Sarah.

Panic threatened to erupt but then Jay’s arms were around her
and she melted into him, mindless of the mess on his shirt and skin. Just him.
Jay was alive and he held her. Sarah’s killer lay bleeding in the sand. Without
exchanging a word, she and Jay held each other as the thump of running feet came
closer and closer. Bennett’s team sprinted along the shoreline toward them.

Cat fought the need to touch him as Jay released her and stood
rigid by her side. “I’m so sorry.”

He closed his eyes. “So you keep saying.”

“I shouldn’t have—”

“You’re a cop, Cat. I shouldn’t have expected any more from
you. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Tears blurred her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

* * *

F
ROM
THEIR
VIEW
ABOVE
the
beach, they watched Bennett being taken from the sand on a gurney and lifted
into the back of an ambulance as police tape was erected around the area.

She shivered. “I wanted to kill him.”

“He killed Sarah. He deserved to die.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll sleep any better tonight, tomorrow, the
next day...”

“No, me, either.”

The tone of his voice left no doubt in Cat’s mind he wasn’t
entirely blaming Bennett for that, but her, too. She closed her eyes not knowing
what to say or do to atone for the mistake she’d made. “I need to ring my boss
in Reading. Harris needs to know what I’ve been up to.”

Jay continued to stare ahead, his jaw set in a hard line.
“Could he suspend you?”

“He could. I don’t think he will. Harris is the antithesis of
Bennett. He’s a good cop through to his soul. This is going to anger him so
much, I’m hoping he’ll forget how Bennett’s guilt came to be revealed and how
much I went against the rules.”

“Right.”

The silence stretched and when it was clear Jay wasn’t going to
say anymore, Cat pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Inspector Harris’s
number. He picked up on the third ring.

“Forrester! How’s the holiday? Hope you’ve been eating a load
of crap that’s gonna put some weight on you, my girl.”

“Of course, sir, among other things.”

He laughed. “I’m sure I don’t need to know about the other
things. You’re far too young and work far too hard. I don’t want to think about
what you get up to when you’re away from this place.”

“You might want to know about this.”

There was a long silence and then he cleared his throat. “Why
do I get the feeling I need to sit down?”

She closed her eyes. “Are you sitting down?”

A barrage of scuffling, squeaking and paper shuffling came
across the line. She had no idea where to start but knew it wouldn’t matter
because when she finished, there was still a chance Harris would take her badge
for not letting him know what was going on sooner.

“Right. I’m sitting. What’s this all about?”

Cat started the story from the beginning, from Jay’s phone call
two weeks before until then. By the time she told him about the money being
found with Sarah’s letter, Harris had sworn enough times to turn the air blue.
Cat closed her eyes as his harried breathing reverberated in her ear.

“Now this Bennett is in hospital? You shot him? Holy Mother of
God. You’re supposed to be on holiday. What the hell were you thinking? No,
don’t answer that. Clearly you didn’t think.”

“Sir—”

“No. No,
sir
. If you had any
respect for the word
sir
you would have asked my
permission to go there and be made an official part of the investigation. Why
the sneaking around? Why the pretense?”

Cat snapped her eyes open and defensiveness prickled along her
skin. “Because of this, that’s why. Because I didn’t know anything for sure and
I didn’t want it to be official. People are often reluctant to talk to us, sir.
You know that. But they might talk to a girl who came to the Cove year after
year and lost her dear friend to a faceless killer.”

“You’re skating on very thin ice, Forrester.”

She turned. Jay watched her, his brow furrowed. She shook her
head.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but none of this has been easy. I did what I
thought was best considering the police were keeping the drug connection under
wraps. Little did I know Bennett was orchestrating the entire thing like a damn
puppet master. He wanted Jay framed and he didn’t give a crap how he did
it.”

“That’s neither here nor there. If this...Bennett or whatever
his name is, wanted your friend dead, he could’ve killed you, too.”

“That was a risk I had to take, sir.”

Silence.

“Did you suspect his involvement from the beginning?”

“No.” Guilt burned like acid in her stomach as she glanced at
Jay. “But very soon after I arrived, I ascertained the killer was local. I knew
once I found out who Sarah had a relationship with I would most likely find the
killer.”