Imperfect Justice (33 page)

M
isty breezed into Rayne’s tattoo shop and found an empty front room. Shaking her head, she went through the curtain that separated the back office area. Rayne must have lost track of time working on some paperwork. She always had tons of it stacked up on the rickety old desk shoved in the corner of the back room.

“C’mon, girl. You’re late.” Misty laughed as she spied Rayne sitting at the desk chair. “Are you ready to go?”

Rayne looked at her watch and groaned. “Shit. I lost all track of time. Dammit, you should have called.”

Misty giggled and pointed to Rayne’s phone sitting on the desk. “I did. Is your phone dead again? You always forget to plug it in.”

Rayne checked her phone and then tossed it back down in disgust. “Deader than a doornail. And yes, I forgot to plug it in. Again. I’ve been so busy lately I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached.”

“Business is good. That’s nothing to complain about.”

“I’m not complaining, just observing.” Rayne reached for her purse hung on a hook. “It will be nice to get outside. I opened the front and back doors but it’s not the same.”

Midday sunshine streamed through the open back door giving the drab gray workroom a more cheery appeal.

“Let me lock the front of the store and post the
Closed
sign and we can go out the back.” Rayne left her purse on the desk and headed to the front through the curtain.

Misty walked around the room admiring the photos on the wall of designs Rayne had created. She was incredibly talented with a special flair for capturing the essence of each client.

A thud from the front room caught Misty’s attention. It sounded as if Rayne had dropped something heavy.

“Rayne,” Misty called, heading toward the curtained opening and her friend. “Do you need some help?”

After only a few steps, the curtain lifted and a woman with a gun walked into the back room. Misty’s heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat. Somebody was robbing Rayne’s tattoo shop. And where was Rayne?

“Have a seat, Miss Foster,” the unknown woman invited, her dark hair in disarray and her cheeks red. “You and your friend won’t be going anywhere.”

“How do you know who I am? And where is Rayne?”

“Rayne is fine. As for me? I’ll be happy to tell you.” The woman waved her gun toward a chair. “But first…have a seat and stay there. No heroics or I’ll have to pull the trigger and that would ruin everything.”

On shaking legs Misty dropped down into the chair, her gaze darting around the room looking for something – anything – she could use as a weapon or perhaps another exit she’d never noticed. Of course there wasn’t one and there were several objects that she might throw, but nothing that was going to neutralize a woman with a gun. The back door, however, was still wide open and if Misty could distract the woman perhaps she could make a run for it.

A protective hand instinctually pressed against her abdomen and the stranger noticed the action. “Worried about your baby? I know what that feels like. I’m a mother too. I have a daughter. At least I did.”

“You’re a mother? Then why are you doing this? If you need money there has to be a better way than robbing someone.”

Perhaps reasoning with the woman might work. Misty didn’t have any other options. She needed to talk this woman out of robbing the shop and she needed to make sure Rayne was okay. Misty strained to hear a sound from the front of the shop but it was silent.

“I’m not robbing anyone.” The woman sat down in a chair opposite Misty and pointed the gun with both hands. “Your money is quite safe actually. I’ve come to see you. But first let’s get comfortable.”

The woman reached into her handbag but this time she pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “Cuff your wrist to that pipe on the wall. Do it,” she commanded, tossing the cuffs to Misty and pointing to an old metal pipe about two inches in circumference.

Keeping one eye on the woman, Misty wrapped the cold metal around her wrist, the lock clicking into place. It only took an extra second to lock the cuff around the pipe and she was essentially a prisoner and helpless. So much for making a run for the open door.

Her knees practically knocking together and her skin damp under her arms, Misty faced the woman head on trying not to show any fear.

“Relax,” the woman urged, pointing the gun straight at Misty. “We’re just going to chat for a few minutes.”

“What do you want with me?” Misty demanded. “I don’t even know you.”

“That’s a good question.” The woman set her purse down on a table covered with supplies, knocking bottles and boxes onto the floor, her hands trembling. “You haven’t figured out who I am have you?”

Misty shook her head, fear making it hard to think. She took in the woman’s appearance but it didn’t ring any bells of remembrance. The woman was average height with a slim build. Wearing khaki pants with a white blouse, she could have been any number of wives or mothers that inhabited Fielding. Except that this woman was visibly shaking, flushed and sweating. “Should I have? Have we met?”

“We’ve never met,” the woman conceded, her voice hoarse and tortured. “But I know your boyfriend, Sheriff Monroe. I know him well as a matter of fact. And I’ve come to know quite a bit about you. It seems this town loves to talk about you. I found it all very interesting.”

Misty winced at the thought of what might have been said. But the part of knowing Jared stuck out in her mind. “You know Jared? How do you know him?”

If this woman was going to pull some “I’ve been sleeping with your man and he really loves me” crap, she could forget it. Misty wouldn’t buy that for a moment. Especially after the weekend she and Jared had shared. She’d trust him no matter what.

The woman leaned back in her chair, anguish written in every line of her face and the gun still pointed at Misty’s heart. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through? Jared Monroe has cost me everything I’ve ever loved. That’s why I’m going to take everything he loves from him. Namely you and that baby.”

A chill ran up Misty’s spine at the cold words, spoken in a tone full of hate, spite, and despair. What this woman didn’t realize was that Misty wasn’t going to let anything happen to her baby without a fight.

“Who are you?” Misty whispered, her heart clenching in her chest making it hard to breathe. “What are you going to do to me?”

The woman placed the gun on the table and reached into her purse again, pulling out a large mason jar filled with a golden colored liquid and a rag coming out of the top. Misty tugged at the metal cuff wrapped around her wrist but it was tightly locked and wouldn’t budge.

The woman picked up the gun. “My name is Lindsey Hicks Jackson. And I already told you what I’m going to do. I’m going to take from Jared Monroe what he took from me. He took everything I loved. He owes me and he’s going to pay up. I’m going to set fire to this building and you’re going to die in it.”

The ex-wife of Boyd Hicks.

Sweat was running down Misty’s back and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears. She didn’t want to die. She had too much to live for. “You’re crazy. None of what happened to you is Jared’s fault. He was just doing his job.”

“His job?” The gun jerked in Lindsey’s hand and Misty stopped breathing for a moment. “His job is to protect people. Where was he when Boyd got me hooked on drugs? Thank God Dale was there to help me. We worked together and got Boyd sent away for a long time. Dale was my lifeline. But then Dale got sent away too and I had nobody to take care of me. And then I lost Tilly. But I met Dave and everything started to be better. I thought everything was going to be okay but then Boyd was let out of jail and Dale told Boyd everything.”

“Everything? What did Dale tell your husband?” Misty tried to keep Lindsey talking no matter what. Stall.

“Dale told Boyd about him and me. Boyd was pissed off and he threatened me if I didn’t support him seeing Tilly. He threatened to tell the judge about Dale and me.”

Lindsey had been having an affair with her husband’s brother. It was like a soap opera except that Misty was trapped in it and it was all too real.

“So you killed Boyd? I’m sure you didn’t mean to.”

“He would have killed me.” Lindsey stood and began to pace the room, waving the gun around. “I had no choice. I shot him and then called Dale but he didn’t answer. Then I called Dave and he came to help me.”

The woman’s expression crumpled and tears rolled down her cheeks. “Dave’s the only man that has ever truly loved me. When I finally did get through to Dale he just laughed at me. Said I was a great piece of ass and that was it. He just used me for revenge on Boyd. He hated Boyd and tricked me into killing him. Even gave me a gun for protection. For
protection
, he said. He knew I’d end up using it. I fell for it and now everything is falling apart.”

Lindsey was also falling to pieces in front of Misty. It was the one glimmer of hope in this dire situation. Keep Lindsey talking until she completely fell apart or Jared came.

“Jared can help you,” Misty said urgently. “It sounds like it was self-defense. They won’t put you in jail for that and you’ll still get your daughter. Nothing has gone too far yet. Jared can help you.”

Lindsey stopped and whirled around to face Misty, her eyes wild and her skin pale.

“Where was he when Boyd was threatening me so he could see Tilly? Nowhere. Dave had to take care of Boyd because Jared Monroe wasn’t doing his job. Now that Dave’s in jail, they’ve postponed the custody hearing for Tilly. But I know what that really means. It means they’re never giving my baby back to me.”

Lindsey’s voice had gone up several decibels and the words came out in choked sobs. Lindsey’s lips trembled while her hand holding the gun shook. Wanting to calm the woman, Misty spoke in a soothing tone.

“A postponement doesn’t mean you won’t get her back. I’m sure once they see you’ve changed you’ll get your daughter.”

Lindsey’s features twisted into something ugly, the humanity stripped from her expression. “It’s too late for that now. I’ve lost everything I’ve ever cared about. Tilly. Dave. Dale. Boyd. Someone has to pay. Jared Monroe doesn’t deserve to live happily with you and that baby when he’s the reason all these bad things have happened to me. He deserves to suffer. I hope he burns in hell.”

Before Misty had a chance to make sense of the woman’s words Lindsey Jackson pulled a lighter from the bag and lit the rag hanging out of the mason jar and then tossed it against the wall. The glass shattered, the sound loud in the eerie silence, the liquid a huge blot and dripping down on the flammable paper below it. Orange and yellow flames jumped and danced while the pungent odor of gasoline filled Misty’s nostrils.

The strong instinct to survive kicked in and the world seemed to come into sharp focus. She could hear every little breath Lindsey took and see the sweat beaded on her upper lip and forehead. The woman’s eyes had gone cold and lifeless, almost like black marbles. Misty’s mind ran through scenario after scenario of possible ways to escape and they all ended the same way. Her and Rayne dead in a burned out building.

“Don’t do this, Lindsey. I’m pregnant. I’m a mother just like you. I don’t think you’re the type of person that would kill an innocent child. You’re better than that.” Misty’s voice was filled with desperation that she couldn’t hide even as she tugged at her wrist, a futile effort. The flames weren’t large at this point but they would grow bigger. The horror of a death by fire was something she couldn’t even comprehend. That one human was capable of committing such a grisly act on another was beyond Misty’s understanding of the world.

“Maybe once I was better than this. But now I just can’t go on anymore and pretend things will get better. They’ll only get worse.” Lindsey dropped her purse on the floor and pulled a syringe from its depths. “I’m tired. Of everything. This will soon be all over.”

With that she wrapped an elastic band around her upper arm and then while Misty watched in horror, Lindsey shot the syringe full of liquid in her veins. She groaned and closed her eyes, her lips turning up slightly at the corners as if savoring the feeling.

“You’ll pass out from the smoke before the flames get you.”

The words were slurred as Lindsey stumbled to her feet, swaying and unsteady. Her purse dangling from her fingers, she stumbled to the back door, slamming it shut behind her.

The growing yellow and orange flames jumped along the back wall and the smoke was growing thicker.

In desperation Misty frantically pulled open the drawers of the desk next to her looking for something – anything – that would get her out of these cuffs. She wasn’t going to die in the building. It was up to her to save herself and her baby.

Her fingers closed tightly around a paperweight, a heavy polished rock Rayne had brought back from one of her many adventures. Misty lifted it high into the air and brought it down on the lock of the cuffs with all the strength she possessed.

She’d batter at the lock until it gave way.

It was a glass of iced tea later when Jared impatiently looked at his watch. Rayne and Misty should have been back a long time ago. She hadn’t sent him a text that they’d be awhile so he couldn’t think what would be keeping them. He pulled his phone from his pocket and punched a few buttons. Misty’s phone rang and rang but only her voicemail picked up.