Lori nodded. "I think Ellis did more than witness the murder."

"Maybe the sister was his first kill?"

"That's possible."

On the coffee table Chet's cell phone buzzed. He and Lori exchanged a look. He hoped it wasn't another dead body.

Chet pushed to his feet and reached the phone just before it went to voice mail. His ex-wife's image flashed on the screen. Sherry? Why would she be calling at this hour? Worry twisted his gut. He hoped his son wasn't sick. "Hey, everything okay?"

"I want you to listen, Chet, but I don't want you to get excited."

His pulse slung into overdrive. "What's going on?" He could hear television sounds in the background.

"Everything is fine. Chester is fine."

Somehow that wasn't rea.s.suring. "What's going on, Sherry?" Lori moved up next to him. He shrugged, uncertain what the h.e.l.l was up.

"With all that's going on with your job and your new girlfriend, I've been really worried, Chet. And now this business of a.s.signing a cop to watch the house, it's too much. I decided it was better if I took Chester away for a while."

The fear he'd been holding at bay surfaced. "What does that mean, Sherry? Where are you?"

"We're fine, Chet. Chester and I are staying with friends until this is over. You don't need to worry. We're safe."

d.a.m.n. "Sherry, where are you?" She didn't sound drunk. His ex-wife hardly even drank a gla.s.s of wine. Had she lost her mind? Was someone forcing her to make this call? His heart started to pound.

"I'm not telling you where we are, Chet. Our son is safer that way. He's not safe with you right now. We'll be fine. When this is over, we'll come back home."

"I don't think-"

"I'll call you again soon. Bye, Chet."

The call ended. "What the h.e.l.l?" He tried to call her back three times but it went to voice mail each time.

"What's going on?"

"Sherry took Chester somewhere." He closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

"She's protecting him."

Chet opened his eyes and glared at Lori, wanted to be angry. But she was right. "I don't like it."

Lori put her arms around him and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. "As much as I hate to agree with anything she says or does, she is right. If Chester isn't around, he's unlikely to become a target." She raised her head to look him in the eyes. "We don't know what's going to happen next, Chet. He's safer this way. We talked about this. You were the one who brought it up first. She's only doing what you would do if the circ.u.mstances were reversed."

"We did." He exhaled a big breath. What would he do without this woman? He might be a grown man and a homicide detective but right now what he wanted to do more than anything was cry.

As if she knew exactly how he felt, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Come to bed. We've had a long day. A good night's sleep will make everything clearer."

"I just hope it puts us one day closer to stopping Spears."

21.

Dunbrooke Drive, 11:45 p.m.

Jess stared at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. Dan slept soundly next to her though she didn't see how. He'd been distracted all evening, prowling around the house like he'd lost something besides their privacy. But then, who wouldn't be? Every time she'd started to bring up the news she had to share, he seemed to withdraw.

How could she blame him? She had turned his life upside down. She hadn't intended to come back here and wreak such havoc. Her sister and her brother-in-law weren't safe in their own home. Dan's parents weren't either. Wanda had been visited by the killer who wanted Jess for some twisted reason.

The people she cared about most, the friends she had made since coming here, all of them were in danger because of her.

That didn't even include the baby.

Her stomach did one of those rolls that warned she'd better head to the bathroom.

She pushed the covers down and eased out of bed, snagging her cell phone as she went. Cringing with every step, she padded into the bathroom. When the door was closed, ever so gently, she turned on the light.

She sat on the side of the whirlpool tub and waited to see if her stomach would settle. Everything was such a mess. Lately it felt like each day brought some new complication.

Like being pregnant.

Her attention settled on the full-length mirror on the back of the door. She stood, turned side ways and pulled her nights.h.i.+rt tight over her belly. No noticeable change yet. But there were a million things to do starting with finding a doctor.

When the baby was born, where would they live? Here? Would Dan insist on a big wedding? How would she handle that? There was no question, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him but she wasn't entirely comfortable with sharing their private lives with the world.

The image of that headstone cut through all the worrisome thoughts. The painting came next. She trembled. Spears had shown them just how close he could get with such ease.

How did she protect Dan or this baby?

She'd asked herself that question a thousand times and she still had no answer. Her hand flattened against her tummy. Whatever happened, this new life was depending on her.

A soft knock made her jump. "You okay in there?"

She opened the door and made an apologetic face. "I didn't mean to wake you. I couldn't sleep."

How could the man roll out of bed after the kind of day they'd had and look that good? His hair was mussed, he wore nothing but his boxers and he could still rock the cover of a fas.h.i.+on magazine. Every inch of him was well muscled and beautifully toned. So not fair. She sighed.

He took her by the hand and tugged her along. "Let's find some hot chocolate. That'll help you sleep."

"You have hot chocolate?" Her stomach let her know it was interested.

"It may be left over from Christmas."

She followed him into the kitchen and scooted up onto a stool at the island. "You have hot chocolate at Christmas?"

"I do," he said as he searched the cabinets. "Don't you remember?"

With her elbows on the counter and her chin in her hands she searched her memory. It took a little longer than it used to. Then she smiled. "I remember the first winter we were away from Birmingham. We had hot chocolate and marshmallows every night." How had she forgotten that? Boston had been cold as h.e.l.l compared to here.

"Ah ha!" He turned back to her, container of instant hot chocolate in his hand. "It was so cold in Boston we stayed under blankets in that tiny apartment all winter." He laughed, the sound more cathartic than anything she'd experienced in weeks. "I remember thinking I never wanted to see snow again."

"Very different from Alabama winters." Jess laughed. They had been so young and so madly in love.

"That's putting it mildly."

"Shoveling out the car was the worst." She had vivid recollections of that ch.o.r.e.

He groaned. "Don't remind me." He filled the teakettle and set it on the stove. There was a click, click, click and the flame lit beneath it. "I thought I had died and gone to h.e.l.l."

While he rounded up cups, measured out the proper amount of mix into each one and then gathered spoons, Jess wished she had some of the photos that were stored in Virginia. She still had a few from those days in Boston.

He leaned on the counter to wait for the water to boil. "I also remember the snow that Christmas you came back here for a visit."

The mischievous twinkle in his eyes warned that he was recalling one part in particular. "I was on my way to Lil's house when I ran into you."

He grinned. "We hadn't seen each other in..."

"Ten years," she supplied. "A whole decade."

"I can't believe we let that much time pa.s.s."

"Then we let another decade pa.s.s before we saw each other again." It didn't seem possible so much time had slipped away. Dan had called and asked for her help on a case. She'd needed desperately to get out of Virginia. The Spears investigation had just gone to h.e.l.l and it was her fault-at least the world had thought so.

"You think maybe destiny is trying to tell us something?"

"That we have truly odd timing?" she suggested with a laugh.

He reached toward her, let her hair filter through his fingers. "Like maybe we belong together and no matter how we've tried to pretend otherwise, we are destined to be a couple."

Or a family. This was the time. "We need to have that talk I've been trying to have with you all week."

The kettle whistled.

"Hold that thought."

Dammit, she couldn't keep holding this one! She slid off the stool and rounded the island as he poured the steaming water into the cups. While he set the kettle back on the stove, she stirred.

"Can we talk now? Give it time to cool?" Most people would think they were crazy for having hot chocolate in August. It was hot as blazes outside. The humidity was unbearable. But she needed the comfort only heated chocolate could give.

"All right. I'll go first."

"You want to go first?" Had he been keeping a secret too? Was she never going to get to tell hers?

"Come on. We have to do this right." He carried their cups and led the way.

Jess followed him into the living room. He sat down on the hearth. She sat beside him and accepted one of the cups.

"Shall we light the gas logs?"

He gave her a sideways glance before sipping his chocolate.

She savored a swallow of hers and waited for him to begin. It gave her another minute to rally her nerve. Yeah, yeah. More excuses, Jess.

"While the crime scene team was here today they found something besides all the cameras."

A new kind of worry needled its way beneath her skin. "No one said anything."

"Harold came to see me just before we left the office."

No wonder he'd seemed so distant tonight. "What did they find and what does Black have to do with it?" Harold Black did not like her. No matter how he pretended to, Jess understood that he did not. He'd made that clear from the beginning whether Dan wanted to see it or not.

"Remember last week they found Allen's cell phone in my garbage?"

She nodded. It didn't matter that the cup she held was warm, her hands felt suddenly cold.

"A search of Allen's office uncovered a report he'd supposedly written with the intention of filing a complaint against me for threatening him."

"What? You didn't threaten him." She winced. "Did you?"

"I did not threaten him."

This was sounding more and more as if someone was trying to frame the chief of police. But they were framing the wrong chief. Jess was the one Allen hated.

"So today they found something else? Here?" Jess couldn't believe it!

He nodded, set his chocolate aside. "They found Allen's wedding band in my grill."

"His wedding band? In the grill you used for the steaks the other night?"

Another nod. "The inscription confirmed it was Allen's."

That would have been her next question. "Black doesn't think you put it there, does he?"

Dan braced his forearms on his knees. "I don't know what he thinks. He insinuated he believed me when I said I didn't put it there."

"He probably thinks I put it there." If either of them had motive, it was Jess. But she had not put anything in the grill.

"Whatever he thinks," Dan went on, "because they found the ring, they want to do a more thorough search of the house and yard."

"What?" Jess almost spilled her hot chocolate. Dan took the cup from her and set it beside his. "They want to search your house? Oh my G.o.d!" She shot to her feet and started to pace. This was beyond insane.

"I have nothing to hide."

"You need a lawyer." This was wrong. "If Black isn't setting you up, then Spears is... somehow. Either way, you need a good attorney to protect you, Dan. You can't take this lightly."