Silent Killer Page 0,56

my opinions as much as I respect his.”

“In other words, everything that Derek Lawrence is not.”

Maleah groaned. “My turn to ask you about Cathy. Are you going to ask her out on a real date?”

“Maybe. Yeah, I think I probably am.”

“Take it slow and easy, okay? One step at a time. She broke your heart once. I don’t want to see that happen again.”

“You were just a kid when I was involved with Cathy. How do you know she broke my heart?”

“After they shipped you back home and you were in the hospital, full of pain medication, you talked about her,” Maleah said.

“Oh.”

“I love you, you know.”

Jack heaved a heavy sigh. “Yeah, me, too.”

“Have a nice lunch. And remember to take some photos while the remodeling is going on and send them to me. If you change the place enough where it looks completely different inside and out, I might actually come for a visit.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

When they said good-bye and Jack slipped his phone onto the belt clip, he tried not to think about the reasons Maleah hated their childhood home so much. As far as he knew, after he’d left to join the army, Nolan had never laid a hand on her again. He had warned his stepfather that he’d kill him if he ever touched Maleah. But she had lived in that house of horrors for nearly five years after he left, until she’d gone away to college. Even if Nolan hadn’t abused her physically, Jack suspected the psychological abuse had been bad enough. Sometimes, he still felt guilty about leaving her there, but if he hadn’t gotten away when he did, he would have wound up killing his stepfather.

Bruce Kelley folded his hands together and pressed them against his forehead. “Dear God, help me.”

He hadn’t wanted to sedate Sandie, but he’d had little choice. This morning’s episode had been the worst she’d ever had. Although she had known who he was, he had been unable to convince her that their three children were now adults and living on their own. She had searched the house in a frenzy of fear and uncertainty, looking for Kim, Kira and Kevin.

“Someone has kidnapped my babies,” she had told him, genuine terror in her eyes. “We have to call the police. Do you hear me, Bruce? Do something. Do something now!”

When he had tried to comfort her, she had balled her hands into tight fists and pummeled his chest repeatedly. And when he had tried to restrain her, she had fought him like a madwoman. He had begged and pleaded, doing his best to calm her without physically hurting her. But she had broken away from him and run out the front door and into the yard, screaming at the top of her lungs. Neighbors had come out of their houses, and when two of the ladies, Glenda Pittman and Judy Calhoun, realized what was happening, they had rushed over to help. But Sandie hadn’t recognized the women, even though both had lived on either side of them for a good many years.

“She needs to be sedated,” Glenda, a pediatric nurse, had told him. “Do you have anything?”

He had nodded. “Some pills the doctor gave us, but—”

“Get them. Judy and I will stay here with her. If we can’t get her to take the tablets, we’ll have to call 911.”

When he had returned with the medication, Sandie had appeared calmer and even agreed to take a couple of the pills. But the moment he’d placed the medication in her mouth, she’d bitten his fingers.

Bruce unfolded his clasped hands and looked at the bandage Glenda had taped over his right index finger after she had stopped the bleeding and cleaned it with an antiseptic.

“She’s sleeping.” Judy Calhoun stood in the doorway of his study. “Glenda said to tell you that she’ll sit with her for a while longer.” She gazed at him sympathetically. “Why don’t you come over to the house and eat lunch with Bob and me?”

“Thank you, but I don’t think I could eat a bite.”

“You need help, someone who can live in and look after Sandie.”

“Yes, I know. Kim is bringing a young woman to Sunday dinner. The girl is one of her students. She’s a bit slow, but she’s strong and healthy, and Kim assures me that she’s very kind.” Tears sprang into his eyes. He turned his head and cleared his throat.

Judy walked into the room, came over to him and placed her hand