Chapter 30 #2
“I just keep asking myself, where was I when this was happening to her?” Jack asked. “What was I doing?”
“Quinn could tell you if you wanted to know that badly,” Jamie replied warily.
“You might be better off not knowing,” Frannie said.
Jack ran his hands through his hair, pacing the room as the rage he’d kept under control all morning came to a boil. “I never thought I’d be capable of killing someone, but if you put him in this room right now—”
“I’d help you,” Jamie said.
Sergeant Curtis was in Clare’s room when Jack arrived the next morning.
“Did you find him?” Jack asked as he sat next to Clare and took her hand.
“He’s in prison in California. Apparently, he did almost the same thing again. He was convicted of raping a Realtor in San Diego about a year after he attacked you. The case is eerily similar to what you described yesterday, Clare.”
“At least he’s locked up,” Jack said, relieved.
“He’s serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for aggravated assault and first-degree sexual assault.
” Curtis explained that with convictions in two prior felonies in California, Turner had been put away for life under the state’s three strikes law.
He’d been on parole and running from the law when he raped Clare.
“We can file new charges in your case, and we’d have a better chance of securing a conviction since we’re dealing with a pattern.”
“Why do I hear a ‘but’ in there?” Clare asked.
Curtis paused for a moment before he continued, appearing to choose his words carefully.
“Your family has already been through a terrible ordeal. A trial would be ugly. You’d have to recount the assault in open court, and his lawyer would do a number on the fact that you remembered it in a dream.
He’s in prison for life, and he’ll never be paroled.
You have to weigh whether adding another conviction to his rap sheet is worth the toll on you and your family. ”
“It isn’t,” she said without hesitation. “He’s in prison, and he’s not getting out, so there’s no way he can do this to someone else. If I pressed charges, I’d have to worry that he’d make good on getting someone else to hurt my kids. I won’t take that risk.”
“If you’re sure,” Curtis said.
“I’m sure,” Clare said, tightening her hold on Jack’s hand.
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. A rape victim is often put on trial herself, and I’d hate to see that happen to you when you’ve already been through so much.”
“Thank you, Sergeant, for believing my story yesterday, for moving so quickly to protect my family, and to find Turner,” Clare said. “I appreciate it.”
“I’m just glad we were able to find him.”
“Could you keep this out of the papers? My family has been through enough without this being splashed all over the news. We’ll tell the people we want to know.”
“Consider it done,” Curtis said as he got up to leave. “I admire your courage, Clare. Good luck to both of you.”
Jack stood to shake the detective’s hand. When Curtis had gone, Jack turned to her. “I’m proud of you. I’m sure you want your own justice, but you made the right decision.”
“He’s taken enough from me—from all of us. I’m ready to get back to living. I could never do that with a trial and his threats hanging over my head. I want to put it behind me.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Jack squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek, hoping he could do it for her.
Andi groaned and rolled over, dropping her feet down to propel herself out of bed.
Now in her seventh month, she couldn’t imagine being any bigger than she was already.
It’ll get worse before it’s over, she reminded herself.
Her back screamed from the weight of the babies, and Dr. Abbott had threatened to put her on bed rest if she didn’t slow down on her own.
She hadn’t seen Jack in three months and still found that continuous activity was the only thing that kept her mind from wandering back in time.
Eric was in Chicago for a longer-than-expected stay, since Andi was either working or exhausted and was almost too big to fit behind the wheel of her car to take him anywhere.
Betty had flown to Rhode Island right after school ended to pick up her grandson for a month-long visit.
Andi figured it was his best hope for a fun summer and was grateful for her mother’s help.
Kate had been a big hit from her first day at the hotel, and the bar manager reported there were now regulars who showed up on the days she was working just to hear her play. Andi enjoyed having her around, and Kate usually stopped in to see her before her shifts.
Andi waddled back downstairs after a brief rest, knowing Kate would be coming by soon. She’d just made it back to her office when Kate came in looking all grown up in a white blouse, black skirt, and high-heeled sandals.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Kate studied her with concern.
Andi knew her face was probably devoid of color and, as usual, she was out of breath. “Just had a nap to get me through the afternoon. How are you?”
“Good.” Kate cast a nervous glance over her shoulder. “Um, listen, my car’s in the shop having the new stereo put in so my dad brought me to work today. He was wondering if he could talk to you. Just for a minute…”
Andi’s heart fluttered. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“Please, Andi. He needs to see for himself that you’re okay.”
Andi didn’t have the strength to argue. “Fine. Send him in. I’ll see you later?”
“I’ll come by before I leave.” Kate went to get her father.
Andi’s heart went from fluttering to hammering as she sat behind her desk and waited for him. When he came in, she experienced the familiar surge of love that’d left her breathless long before twin babies were squeezing all the air from her lungs.
He leaned against the door frame as if he was afraid to step inside. “Hi.”
She drank in the sight of him, hungry for as much as she could get. “Hi.”
“Thanks for seeing me. How are you?”
She pushed back from her desk so he could see her huge belly. “Enormous and getting bigger every day.”
His eyes almost popped out of his head. “Does it hurt?”
She smiled at his reaction. “Just my back, which is killing me, and I have the lungs of a three-pack-a-day smoker since these guys are taking up all the room.” She patted her belly and told him the doctor had said everything was great at her last appointment.
She didn’t add that she’d chosen not to find out the babies’ sexes, since she couldn’t bear to hear that news without him with her.
“You’ve never been more beautiful. You’re glowing.”
“Like a nuclear reactor,” she said with a dry chuckle.
He laughed.
“Do you want to sit for a minute?” She gestured to the chair next to her desk, and he came in, bringing his achingly familiar scent with him. “How are you?” Something about him was different, but she couldn’t say what.
“I’m hanging in there.” He told her what Clare had remembered.
“Oh, Jack. God… I’m so sorry. Poor Clare. What a terrible burden she carried all alone.”
“She was too afraid to tell anyone, even me. I felt so helpless and enraged when I heard it that I realized I could kill him if I had the chance.”
The hint of rage she’d seen in his eyes was the difference. “I don’t doubt it.” She wanted so badly to reach out to him that it took every ounce of willpower she had not to. “How is she now?”
“She’s working really hard on her therapy—all of it. Knowing what happened seems to have fueled her desire to get better and to not let him win.”
“Good for her. Kate told me Clare was able to attend her graduation.”
“It was her first time out of the hospital. Kate’s class asked her to sing, and Clare couldn’t believe how good she was.”
“Kate showed me her car, too,” Andi said with a smile. Kate had received a yellow Beetle.
He chuckled. “Maggie put in an order for a red one when her time comes.”
“Kate has become a big star around here. The guests love her.”
“She’s enjoying it so much. Thanks for giving her the opportunity.”
“I should be thanking her. My bar receipts are way up since she started.” Andi leaned her elbows on the desk to take some pressure off her back. “She told me what you agreed to let her do. It’s a wise move, Jack.”
“I hope so. The whole thing still freaks me out, but I guess I have to let her try it. I also have to work up the nerve to break the news to Clare that Kate’s not going to college.”
“If she’s heard Kate sing, I’m sure she’ll understand.”
After a moment of awkward silence, he looked up at her with those potent gray eyes. “What’ll we do about the babies, Andi? It’s all I think about. I promised you I’d never leave you alone, and now…”
His tortured expression almost undid her cool composure. “Can we talk about it later? I just can’t think about that right now.” It overwhelmed her to imagine being alone with three young children. Even though she knew he would help as much as he could, it wouldn’t be like they’d planned.
“I miss you so much.”
His words and the emotion behind them pierced her heart. “Don’t,” she said softly. “You’d better go.”
He stood to leave. “Will you promise to call me if you need anything? You have all my numbers.”
“I will.” She told him what he needed to hear but knew she never would.