A Wishing Moon (25 page)

Jade tried hard to be strong for them as well as for Arabella. “She was working in the kitchen area and I sat in the living room. I heard someone come into the room and I looked up thinking it was her. It wasn’t, of course. It was an old man. The police officer who shot at him said the shooter was your neighbor, Lyle Sessions.” None of the women looked surprised, only sorrowful. “He called Arabella names and said he had come to shoot me then her. He pointed the rifle at me and I froze, I knew there was no way I could get up and get out of the way. I screamed at Arabella to run,” his voice broke, “and she did, but not the right way. Instead of saving herself she ran between us and took the bullet meant for me.” Tears were spilling from his eyes. “God, this is all my fault.”

Much to his surprise, Nanette denied his claim. “Even if you were still in that hospital bed in Tranquility, this man would have tried to kill Arabella. We uncovered his crime and he means for us to pay.”

Elizabeth agreed with her mother, “There’s another thing, Jade. Arabella would do anything in the world to protect you. She loves you a thousand times more than she loves herself. I wished a million times I could have saved Tom. I would have given everything I had, including my life, for just one more day with him. Count yourself fortunate; not that you are alive, but that you have been loved so completely and so well.”

Angelique and Evangeline stepped on either side of Jade and led him into the waiting room. He decided not to hide the rest of the story. “They resuscitated her in the ambulance, her heart stopped and they had to shock her to get it started again. Robert, one of the EMS guys said she had lost so much blood, he doesn’t know if she will make it or not.”

“
She will live,” Nanette said evenly. “I am here and I am willing her to survive. I should have thought this through. I put a ward around the house, but then I let her leave the safety of the spell. I bet she forgot and took her gris-gris bag off—if the fault belongs anywhere, Jade, it’s mine to bear. I should have watched after her better.”

They sat quietly and waited for what seemed an eternity. At long last, a doctor came into the room and said two words which set them all free. “She’s resting.”

“
Blessed be,” Nanette clapped her hands together in thanks. They took turns going in to check on her until all were satisfied that she was truly past the crisis point.

“
Why don’t you take Jade home, Mother. Evangeline and I will stay here with Arabella.” Elizabeth picked up her purse and started to rise.

“
I’m not leaving,” Jade stated flatly. “If anybody stays with her, it will be me.”

No one argued with him. They realized it was useless.

After the others had gone, a nurse walked with him to her room and showed him how the seemingly straight chair would fold out into a makeshift bed. He thanked her, but he had no intention of sleeping.

Jade sat by Arabella’s bed for eighteen hours. She had endured two surgeries and they had lost her twice, including the time in the ambulance. Four pints of blood had been pumped into her veins. Elizabeth had tried to get him to go home, but he refused. Dr. Francois had come by and urged him to at least let him perform the scheduled tests, but he had refused. Evangeline and Angelique had brought him food and even Nanette had begged him to get some rest, but he refused.

Television crews had come by wanting to interview him, but he had sent them away, unwilling to answer their questions. When the police report had reached the ears of the media and they had discovered another incident had taken place at the scene of the previous murder and one of the same psychics was involved, as well as the sexy Congressman—the airways and newspapers had gone crazy. Reese Phillips had come to try and talk Jade into distancing himself from the situation and to help him come up with some favorable spin to put on the story. Jade had talked to Reese politely, but refused to leave Arabella’s side or step away from her, not even for a moment.

He did consent to meet with Reese after Arabella could go home from the hospital, but not before. He was worried to death. Why wouldn’t she wake up? The doctor had said this comatose state was her body’s way of dealing with the extreme stress it had been under, but he was frantic with worry.

Since he had left the place where Arabella had been shot, he had not used his cane at all. He hadn’t needed it. Frankly, he couldn’t spare the time to think about himself, all he could think about was Arabella.

* * * *

Detective Tyler Garrison now had a legitimate suspect in the murder of Kathy and Lea, and possibly the other victims, if the remains and identities checked out with the information Ms. Fontenot had given him. Finally, the detective had more than enough cause to search Sessions’ home and property. He had sent his men to arrest him for the attempted murder of Arabella Landry, but his house was completely deserted.

Detective Garrison didn’t have to wait long before one of his men phoned to say they had found the boat oar he had used to kill the McLemore mother and child. That wasn’t all they found. The men had been horrified to find a full-fledged torture chamber in Sessions’ basement. There were whips and chains, electrical paddles, all types of surgical knives and even formaldehyde he could use to subdue and control his victims. One man lost his lunch when they found dozens of rotting cats and dogs that appeared to have been tortured. With evidence like this, they should soon be able to spring the trap.

Garrison had tried to protect Arabella and the rest of them, but Sessions had gotten to them anyway. What plagued his mind now was—would they find the other victims and could they tie Sessions to those murders as well? On top of that problem, Sessions was still on the loose, which meant Elizabeth and her family was still in danger.

* * * *

He parked his pickup truck on the dirt road that led down to Cypress Creek. Stealthily walking through the thick underbrush, he got as close to the edge of the creek as he dared, so he could see across the body of water and watch the activity taking place within the yellow-taped parcel of land. He counted eight officers, all armed with shovels or black bags. When he saw the bloodhounds, he began to back away. One of them raised its huge head and took a deep breath of air, looking over the creek to where he was hiding.

Clearly, it was time to leave. His handiwork had been discovered. For five years, he had planted his victims in this place where his torment had started. How long would it be before they realized all the women looked like pale copies of an original painting?

* * * *

Arabella opened her eyes. Where was she? She seemed to be in a hospital room, for a moment she thought she might still be sitting beside Jade’s bed at Tranquility and everything that had happened had all been a dream. That thought filled her with horror. But, then she realized it was she who lay in the hospital bed. She closed her eyes for a moment trying to remember, and then it all came rushing back to her. Lyle Sessions had found them at the Townsend’s home and he had tried to kill Jade.

In panic, she tried to rise up and a wrenching pain caused her to abandon that effort. Where was Jade? Was he all right? Had he been shot? Glancing up next to her bed, she saw an IV hooked up to a pole and there were tubes everywhere. She could see no one in front of her. She looked toward the door and saw no one. She tried to turn toward the window—and then she saw him.

Jade was sitting at her side in a chair. Bent over, with his head in his hands, he looked so tired. But at least he appeared to be healthy. “Jade,” she said hoarsely.

He sprang to his feet. “Arabella, Oh, Arabella—Thank God!” Jade knelt by her side and placed his head on her hand.

“
Jade, are you all right?” As usual, Arabella was more concerned about Jade than about herself.

“
I am fine.” Jade kissed her hand over and over again. “You saved me again. You took a bullet meant for me. What am I going to do with you?”

“
I don’t know,” she murmured tiredly, trying to smile—wishing, needing for him to smile. “Quit worrying that worries me. If you had been injured in any way, I would never have been able to forgive myself. This is nothing.”

He looked at her pale face. About to protest further, she raised the hand bound by tubes and needles and laid it against his lips. “No more.” He kissed the finger pressed against his mouth. “Now, tell me, is everyone else all right? Did Sessions get away?”

“
The family is fine, but, yes, Sessions escaped. Though your mother did tell me this morning Detective Garrison has found the murder weapon that killed your neighbors and now they are searching for him officially as the killer. Officer Myers came to our rescue—or rather my rescue—but he didn’t succeed in stopping Sessions.”

Arabella felt too tired to think about all of the recent horror. She wanted nothing more but to go home and lie in Jade’s arms. “When can I go home?”

“
I don’t know. You’ve had a pretty bad time of it. You lost a lot of blood and had to be operated on. Arabella, I almost lost you.” She raised her hand and wiped the tears from his beautiful face.

“
Stop. I’ll be fine. I can’t stand to see you cry.” Arabella’s voice broke. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips and she met his kiss with her own.

She suddenly realized he was standing, kneeling, and leaning everything without benefit of a cane. “You are better?” she asked incredulously.

“
I left the cane at the scene of your injury. I was so worried about you I never gave myself a thought.” They held each other, both of them thankful for the well-being of the most important person in their life.

* * * *

Arabella gained strength every day. The doctor said he saw no reason why she could not complete her convalescence at home. This sounded good to Jade. He had not left her side, but for very short trips to bathe and change or to grab a bite to eat. He slept in a hard reclining chair by her bed and held her hand most of the time. The nurses had let her get up and walk and really—for what she had been through—Arabella felt pretty good.

Her mother had been by and reported on the funeral and all of the media attention the case was receiving. “I don’t know what all the fallout is going to be over this fiasco, but your business has certainly picked up.” Arabella knew her mother was teasing her, but she did long to get back to normal and take care of her herbs, her cats, but most especially her family, which certainly included Jade.

Chapter Twelve

Finally, Arabella’s release day arrived. The doctor had given her the green light to resume her normal routine—using common sense, of course. The drive from the hospital to Wildflower Way
had seemed to take forever, but at last, she was home. Jade carefully helped Arabella out of the car. He handled her as if she were made of the finest china. She kept insisting she wouldn’t break, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

The whole contingency met in the living room to welcome her home. Angelique had cooked a honey-baked, spiral ham, black-eyed peas and cabbage, because Arabella had missed her normal New Year’s Day fare while in the hospital. Evangeline had kept up with her orders and Elizabeth and Nanette were busy trying to devise a ritual that would end this horror with their dangerous neighbor.

She made them all happy by eating a decent amount of food, but they soon realized she needed rest and time alone with Jade more than she needed anything else.

He led her to their bedroom and gently helped her into the bathroom so she could freshen herself after days in the clinical atmosphere of medicine and sterile smells. She would not let him help her in her bathroom regime. Arabella wanted to see for herself exactly how the gunshot wounds and the subsequent surgeries had scarred her body.

For the first time in their relationship, Arabella locked the bathroom door. Jade had brought her favorite white eyelet set to wear home. She had wanted him to bring just regular clothes, but he had insisted the bedroom would be her domain for a few more days and he thought this manner of dress would be more likely to keep her there. Men!

Slowly, she undid the dozens of tiny shell buttons running down the front of the gown. It would have been faster to pull the cotton garment over her head, but she wasn’t sure she could stand to lift her arms that high—she still hurt if she moved a certain way. She slid the gown off her shoulders and stood there completely in the nude. Gradually she raised her head and opened her eyes and what she saw made her shudder.