Chapter 18
The good news about Mads’ arrest was that most everyone seemed to think it was an open and shut case.
With the gun located, and temporarily back in Todd’s possession—since it was his gun, we checked the serial numbers—before being catalogued as evidence, there was sufficient proof for Mads to be placed under arrest for the murders in Monongahela.
What made things even easier was both Jack and Todd had heard Mads’ very vocal confession about killing his team in order to get to me. Toss in my attempted kidnapping, and it was a pretty easy sell.
So, Mads was locked behind bars. For now.
I wasn’t foolish enough to think that people who got behind bars stayed that way. And with what Mads had said about having a plan in place to get me out of prison, I was left with a sinking feeling that the respite was temporary.
Despite the clock tick, tick, ticking away on the wall, I’d lost track of how long we’d been at the police station. My best guess was between eleven and twelve hours. With no progress.
Mads hadn’t said a word since Jack and Todd placed him under arrest, and it was pretty obvious we weren’t going to get anything else out of him.
He said nothing to the authorities. Nothing to Todd or Jack. And when I was brought in to question him, he only stared at me with disdain.
Though I had to say, the cuffed-behind-bars look worked for him.
I mean, it really warmed my heart to see him restrained, eyes glazed over with a glimmer of hatred that surfaced whenever he caught sight of me.
I hoped that if I got close enough, provoked him enough, he would erupt and break the self-imposed silence he’d adopted since his arrest. So, whenever he looked my way, I made sure to smile.
We both knew what it was—a taunt. A challenge.
On a few occasions, I thought I was making headway, when I noticed his lip twitch, or he blinked extra hard, and I convinced myself that he was just some itching powder away from saying something.
Unfortunately, both Jack and Todd had vetoed that option. Something about “cruel and unusual punishment.” Which left me sitting in the interrogation room across from the man who was responsible for my brother’s death, drumming my fingers on the metal table trying to wait him out.
If it weren’t for the scrutiny we were under from law enforcement on the other side of the one-way mirror, I would have used the opportunity to smack him around a bit more. Take the edge off. But alas, I had to be respectful to the man I’d kneed in the groin less than twelve hours ago.
The silence, paired with the FBI-imposed ban on acting on my baser impulses, allowed me to come to terms with the fact that while Mads had royally messed up my life, he wasn’t the only one responsible. He wasn’t the only one who had to pay.
The two women who did nothing at the church when Lawrence killed himself had to have been working with Mads as part of his team.
Like Stars and Stripes, the now dead assailants who had attacked Todd and me, when they had tried to abduct me from Monongahela a few months ago.
Though unlike Stars and Stripes, I hoped the two mousy women were still alive, if only to exact my revenge.
But sitting in silence also got me thinking of the bigger questions.
Team or no, just how did Mads expect to get me out of prison once he got me there?
If the FBI’s involvement was unexpected, what was the next part of the plan?
Surely, he wouldn’t have broken me out. There was too much that could have gone wrong.
There had to be some higher-level thinking, some clear cut-and-dry plan, that would have gotten me out of prison precisely when Mads and his team wanted.
My mind circled the thought. Over and over and over again. There was something there, I just needed to think on it when I wasn’t grumpy, sore, or in desperate need of a shower.
The door behind me whined open as Jack and Todd entered the room. “Anything?”
“Not a word.” I rolled my head between my shoulders and rubbed my stiffening neck. “Right, Mads?”
Unsurprisingly, I was met with a stone-cold wall of silence.
“Shucks.” I shrugged. “I really thought I had you with that one.”
Jack shook his head, but I didn’t miss the glimmer of enjoyment in his eyes. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
“But,” I started, then clamped my mouth shut. I didn’t really know what my objection was. It’s not like I wanted to spend more time with Mads, and I wasn’t making any headway in my attempts to get him to talk. I just wanted to make sure that Mads was behind bars, and stayed there.
Todd’s motions were smooth as he signed, “We’ve got what we need.”
Wait. “Really?”
“Really.” Todd gave a curt nod.
Relief washed over me in waves. I knew I’d been nervous, and tried with limited success, to hide it behind humor, but this was huge.
If Todd was saying what I thought he was, then Mads would be locked behind bars, without bail, until the trial, and there was a mountain of evidence to prove he was guilty of any number of charges.
But the last thing I would allow myself to do is showcase my relief in front of Mads.
I didn’t want him to know how much the news affected me.
How much he had affected me. It was different in the cornfield when I had been able to let my rage hide my sensitive underbelly.
Here, in the police station, was another matter.
Without sparing a backwards glance, I made to leave.
“You’ll regret this,” Mads spoke so low, his voice rumbled, “I promise you.”
Silence broken by six words. Six words filled with such venom. Six words I was pretty sure constituted as a threat, which would not work in Mads’ favor. But like hell was I going to let him have the last word.
I spun around, a toothy pageant smile plastered on my face. “Really? You’ve had like twelve hours and that was all you came up with? Zero points for creativity.”
Then, like the grown up I was, I flipped him off with both hands as I exited the room.
?
“Maturity is not your strong suit,” Jack said as the three of us walked through the station’s halls.
“Never said it was.” Adrenaline coursed through my veins, tempered by the look Jack sent me over his shoulder. “Sorry, still in defense mode.”
“Fair,” Jack chuckled. “I have always appreciated your flare for the dramatic.”
Which was met with a huff from Todd. “Don’t encourage her.” But I could see the makings of a smile on Mr. Grumpy’s face.
The spark of levity, however, was doused as we crossed the bullpen.
The hair on the back of my neck pricked, as I sensed the officers’ eyes on me.
Some with interest, others with recognition.
I’d grown up in this town, I had a “two” scarred on my face, and the story of my stabbing was sensationalized and fed the rumor mill long after I left.
Never mind the drama that circled in the James family name over book clubs, 4-H clubs, and knitting circles.
It would have been na?ve of me to think people weren’t going to recognize me. I just wanted to limit my exposure.
I kept my eyes forward as we exited the station. We’d been there for nearly twelve hours, and the last thing I needed was to make small talk. Or get questioned about what I’d been up to since I left town.
Moisture clung to my skin as we reached the parking lot. Though it was dark, the air was still warm, and filled with the chirrups and rasps of crickets and katydids. A familiar song that threatened to resurrect the memory of a home I worked hard to forget.
The good memories were the most painful, because the good would never come back. Things would never be the same, even if the place and people stayed. Decayed.
For most, my hometown was a tomb.
“We’re parked here, Delilah.” Jack pulled out his keys and unlocked the rental car, but I kept walking.
“I need to take a lap. I’ll meet you back at the motel.”
I didn’t miss the exchange between Jack and Todd out of the corner of my eye.
“It’s late, and none of us slept last night.” Jack stepped away from the car, towards me. “Should we be concerned?”
“Nope, I just need to work out this excess energy.”
Jack must have thought through his choice of words carefully, since he paused before saying, “You’ve been awfully flighty, Delilah.”
He was right. Not that I’d say it out loud. I’d been finding excuses to get fresh air, clear my head. More so than usual. But that was because I was—
“Angry. The word you are looking for is angry, Jack. And after speaking—no, sorry—staring at Mads for the better part of a day, I need to get this frustration out of my system.”
“We can’t let you do that.” Jack ran a hand through his hair. “Not alone anyway. We don’t know if Mads was working with someone when he attempted to abduct you.”
“I can handle myself.” Evidence of that was all over Mads’ mugshot where his eye was a satisfying shade of purple. “Besides Mads was all up in arms about his team betraying him. It’s unlikely he was working with anyone.”
“Unlikely isn’t certainty,” Jack said at the same time Todd signed, “We’re not taking any chances.”
Huffing, I crossed my arms. None of us blinked. It was official, we were settling into a three-way stare down.
Given I was the most badass, I would hold out the longest.
But I’d also gotten us into this mess, and I still owed Jack and Todd some reparations for forcing them into a situation that was both uncomfortable and risky.
Never mind that they both supported me. Without coercion.
And minimal questions asked. They chose to help me, even when they could have shut down my plan without giving it a second thought.
I also could have not told them about the rendezvous with Mads, but that wouldn’t have worked out well. A leash was preferable to being back behind bars—or wherever Mads had planned to take me. Besides, I’d grown accustomed to the big lugs.
So, I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
Jack nodded to Todd as he popped open the trunk, Todd placing whatever I’d failed to notice was slung over his shoulder inside. “I’ll walk.”