Leave Yesterday Behind (15 page)

Chapter 21

Nick slowly walked down the drive leading to his cottage. A satisfied, mellow feeling encompassed him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so content. Not even emailing a finished, edited manuscript to his editor in New York gave him quite the peace of mind he now possessed.

All because he was in love.

His friends would’ve thought he was nuts. Yet Nick had the exact feeling Tom spoke of. It ran deeper than any desire he’d ever had. He’d gone from instantly disliking Callie on principle to being undeniably attracted to her against his will, to finding out what an incredibly interesting person she was.

All that—and the sexual heat they generated. God, he could still taste her. Still smell the honeysuckle. Even now, he wanted to turn and find her and pull her close for one more addictive kiss. Actually, he could go for more than a kiss, but he knew he would do this right. He would take it nice and slow. He had fallen—hard, fast, and as thorough as any man could.

But he couldn’t expect Callie to do the same.

She would take some convincing, especially in her present state of mind. Then again, persuading her to fall for him would be a whole lot of fun. He grinned. He couldn’t wait to wage his campaign.

A piercing scream shattered the stillness of the August night. Panic flooded him as he tore back up the gravel drive toward the main house. He knew Callie was in trouble.

He reached the back door, remembering that she had locked the dead bolt behind her. His keys to the main house sat on a table back at his place. He bunched his T-shirt around his hand and punched a pane of glass in the lattice works of the door. Glass shattered, spilling onto the ceramic tile of the kitchen floor. He thrust a hand through, careful not to drag his wrist against the jagged edge.

Unlocking the door, he threw it opened and raced up the stairs. Unsure of which was her room, he headed toward a sliver of light near the end of the hallway. Nick threw the door open. It crashed against the wall.

Callie was slumped on the floor, curled into a tight ball. He raced to her and pulled her to her feet.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, careful to temper his tone. Behind him he heard a noise. He turned. Miz C and Essie stood in the doorway, frightened looks on both their faces.

He turned back to Callie. She was white as a sheet. Her teeth chattered as if she’d been stuck out in a blizzard without a coat. Her lips moved wordlessly.

But it was her eyes that scared Nick the most. They had a blank, dazed look, as if she were going into shock.

Callie tried to get the words out, but fear locked her voice box up. Somehow she realized Nick was there, and she threw her arms around him, burying her face. The tears came, melting the numbness that had frozen her.

“He’s here,” she gasped. “Here. In Aurora.”

“Who, Callie?” Nick asked her gently.

Oh, thank God he wasn’t yelling at her. She didn’t think she could take that. She lifted her face and met his troubled eyes. “The rose. The note,” she whispered.

The effort caused her to release her death grip from him, and she slid down into a puddle at his feet.

He followed her down, taking her hands in his, rubbing them, talking to her in soothing tones. She didn’t listen to his words at first. All she could think about was the horrible note.

“It’s from . . . him.” She reached over and picked up the sheet that had fallen to the floor. Wordlessly, she handed it to Nick. She watched as his eyes went stormy.

He stared at her with a fierce protectiveness. Something stirred inside her. A calm washed over her. She wouldn’t have to face this alone.

She had Nick.

She pulled in a cleansing yoga breath and expelled it slowly. She glanced over and smiled weakly at her aunt and Essie, still hovering in the doorway.

“I’m fine. But we’ve really got to start locking our doors.”

Nick observed that Callie’s eyes were almost back to normal. Some color returned. He stood and pulled her to her feet.

“Don’t touch anything. Let’s go to Miz C’s sitting room and call the police.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. He stroked her hair in a soothing motion, all the while fighting the bile that churned in fury inside him.

Who left the note? He was well versed in the Lipstick Larry murders. He’d followed them as he did any unusual crime, always sifting for details that he might one day incorporate into one of his novels. He’d scoured the news stories even more closely when he’d Googled Callie. No other similar murders had occurred since he was taken into custody.

But the note said Larry was still out there. And he had his eye on Callie. Nick remembered reading one article that said the man charged with her attack and the brutal series of murders of the girls that favored Callie denied his involvement with anything other than his stalking and attack on her.

Could he be telling the truth?

Nick guided Callie down the hallway. He had sat many a time in this room over the last three years as Miz C talked about the old days. He loved listening to her stories about Aurora’s past and all the changes she’d seen in her lifetime. The old lady had become a good friend to him. She helped him begin to mend and create a new, more normal life.

He led Callie to a floral love seat. As she sat down, Nick heard gravel crunching outside. It hit him that Eric must be bringing Gretchen home from the barbeque. He gave her hand a squeeze.

“I’ll be right back.” He hurried from the room, wanting to catch Eric before he left.

As he hit the bottom of the stairs, he stumbled and caught himself. He flicked on a nearby light switch, only to have his stomach turn inside out.

Callie’s fluffy white dog lay on the marble entryway, his throat slashed. Nick remembered how friendly the dog had been. Despite his guard-like stature, the pooch probably never met a stranger.

He opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. He spied Eric and Gretchen and didn’t hesitate to interrupt them.

“We could use a little help in here.”

The kissing couple pulled apart quickly. Both heads turned at the same time. He motioned them up to the porch. As they hurried up the walk, Gretchen broke into a trot.

“Callie?” she called out worriedly.

He nodded. “Wait.” He reached out to stop her from rushing inside.

Nick glanced from his cousin to Gretchen. “Callie’s fine, but she’s had a fright. We were about to call the police when you arrived.” He took a deep breath. “Lipstick Larry left her a note in her bedroom.”

Gretchen gasped, her hand going to her throat. “How did he escape?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think he had to. Come on up. Callie needs a good looking over. And then we need to talk about this.” He stopped before he opened the door.

“Prepare yourself. Wolf is right inside. It isn’t pretty.”

The trio met Essie sitting on the floor next to the still dog, stroking his fur, shaking her head.

“I’m puttin’ on tea and coffee. I suspect we’ll be wanting both.” She bit her lip. “Mr. Eric, you call somebody to come get Wolf here so’s I can clean up the floor. I don’t want Miss Callie seeing her baby this way.”

Eric was already lifting his cell phone from his belt to call the station. Those gathered waited as he spat out instructions before they continued upstairs to the sitting room.

Gretchen flew to Callie’s side, immediately grabbing her wrist to check her pulse.

“It’s fast.” She did a quick once-over and seemed satisfied. She sat down next to Callie on the love seat. “Try to take some yoga breaths.”

She did as Gretchen instructed. She leaned back into the sofa’s cushions and closed her eyes, not wanting to think about everything but knowing she needed to confront things head on. She’d never wimped out before. She wasn’t going to start now, especially with all the support around her. She braced herself and opened her eyes.

“Better?” Eric asked. When she nodded, he said, “Tell me everything. Don’t leave out any detail. You never know what’s important.

“I went up to my room. There was a light on. I assumed Essie left it on. Maybe. I’m not sure now.”

“She did,” her aunt confirmed. “She said she would as she left my room after she settled me for the night.”

“Okay. Good to know. Anyway, I walked in and spied a rose lying on my pillow. I couldn’t imagine why Essie would leave it there and not place it in a vase. It seemed so . . . odd. I went and picked it up.

“That’s when I noticed the envelope.”

She bit her lip to stop its trembling. Nick came and perched on the arm of the sofa. He gently massaged the back of her neck. Some of the tension eased.

She continued, ignoring the questioning glance Gretchen threw her way. “No name was on the front. It was unsealed.” She watched Eric and Nick exchange a look. “I removed the sheet of paper inside and unfolded it.”

Nick’s arm went around her shoulder. She drew strength from that. “I opened it. It was addressed to Jessica.”

The room grew unnaturally quiet. She broke the silence.

“It was from Lipstick Larry. It said something like it was from the real Larry and not the fool I’d encountered.”

She reached up to her shoulder. Nick covered her hand with his.

“We left the note on the floor,” he told Eric. “Obviously, Callie touched it. She handed it to me, so my prints are on it, as well. We left after that. I didn’t want anything disturbed. There could even be something else he left behind in the room that we didn’t see.”

“I’m going to go do a preliminary once-over in Callie’s bedroom,” Eric said. “I’ll have two men here in a few minutes. I want all y’all to stay put. I’m also going to check over the rest of the house before they get here.”

“Essie!” Callie cried out. “She’s downstairs. What if he’s still—”

“I doubt it,” Eric reassured her. “You would’ve known if he’d stayed around. I’m just looking for an open window. That kind of thing. How he got in.”

Nick spoke up. “The back door to the kitchen was unlocked tonight. Callie went in that way when we came home. I don’t know if anything else is unlocked.”

Gretchen’s eyebrows shot up as she looked from Callie to Nick and back again. Callie sensed a guilty blush creep up her neck.

“Stay here, everybody,” Eric reiterated. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Gretchen stood. “Miz C, would you mind if I took your blood pressure and pulse? You look a little peaked.” She walked over to her hostess.

“Why, certainly, dear. I’m all right, though. Just a little worn out by all this excitement.”

Nick slipped across Callie and sat next to her. She grasped his hands tightly.

“Miz C, I think it’s about time you not only started locking up, but you need to look into an alarm system.”

“Oh, dear. That sounds complicated, Nick. And who in Aurora would install such a thing? I suppose we’ll have to go into New Orleans for that.”

“I’ll take care of it in the morning. I’m sure Eric can help us put a rush on things.”

“I’m sorry, Aunt C. I don’t want you or Essie in any danger. Maybe I should go back to New York. They had me under—”

“No,” Nick cut in. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

Gretchen shot Callie a satisfied smile. The redhead then looked over at Nick. “I agree. We need to find out what’s going on here before she goes traipsing off.”

“Traipsing?” Callie laughed. “I think a little Southern is creeping into you, Gretchen.”

The nurse nodded. “I do like it here. Not the heat. And the humidity is wreaking havoc with my hair. Other than that, this is a good place. Good people. Good food.” She paused a beat. “I could see staying here. Permanently.”

“Especially for the good men?” Callandra threw in, a teasing light in her eyes.

Gretchen flushed bright crimson to her roots. “Oh, hell,” she muttered. “Why not admit it?” She turned to Nick. “I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks. I am absolutely, one hundred and ten percent crazy in love with your silly cousin,” she proclaimed. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. One look at him would’ve done it, but when that lazy drawl slides out of those sexy lips, I am a goner. That and all the opening my doors and helping me from the car—it’s amazing. And don’t any of you go telling him. I don’t want to scare him off.”

Callandra patted Gretchen’s hand. “A Southern man is a true gentleman, Gretchen. He definitely knows how to treat a lady. And Eric has always been such a good boy. Nice looking, full of fun, very respectful. You can’t go wrong with our wonderful chief of police.”

Essie walked in carrying a tray, Eric following behind her, trying to smother a grin behind his hand. Callie wondered just how long he’d been standing there. Essie poured out coffee and tea for everyone as Eric spoke.

“Everything else was secure, so our perp must’ve come in that open back door.”

“Miz C has agreed to let me arrange for an alarm system to be installed first thing tomorrow,” Nick shared.

Eric nodded, pleased. “That’s a terrific idea, Miz C. I have a buddy from college who has his own place over to New Orleans. He does good work, and his rates are reasonable.”

“Then give Nick the information, dear.” She sighed. “I suppose it’s something I should have done a long time ago.”

Eric took a sip of his coffee as the doorbell rang. “That’ll be my boys. Nick, if you’ll let them in? Cal, I’d like to do a formal interview with you now.”

He stood as Nick left the room. “Ladies, if you’ll stay here and out of harm’s way, we’ll be about our business. In fact, if you’d like to go back to bed, Miz C, I won’t be needing to talk to you anymore tonight. I’ll pick your brain tomorrow after you’ve gotten some rest.”

“I don’t know what I could contribute, Eric. Both Essie and I went to bed quite early tonight.”