Over You (26 page)

The image of Douglas filled her mind and she again considered telling him what she’d learned.

“What’s that?” Kyle asked, pointing to the envelope in her hand.

“Oh. Uh, it’s something Melanie dropped off a couple of weeks ago when she went out of town. I kept forgetting to give it to you.” Jessica held it out to him and he took it from her.

“It’s open.” He looked inside and pulled out the plastic case which held the disc, then looked at her. “What is it?”
 

“I, uh, I don’t know.”
 

“Who opened it?”

Though she didn’t want to throw her aunt under the bus, the truth was that Ellen had opened it. “I guess my aunt thought it was for her and opened it. It didn’t have your name on it.”

Kyle examined the envelope. “Oh.”

“Do you know what it is?” She had to know if he knew what was on the disc.

“I have no idea.” He turned the disc over and studied it, as if that would tell him what was on it.

Irritated that he had no clue that the disc had pictures of him with Melanie and their child—his future family—Jessica exclaimed, “It’s pictures, okay? Pictures of you and Melanie.”

“What? But she gave those to me months ago.”

Surprised by that information, she shook her head. “These photos were taken in the park.” She hesitated. “The same park where you and I had
our
pictures taken.”

Kyle gazed at Jessica, obviously aware of which park she’d been talking about. “How do you know what’s on the disc? I thought you said you hadn’t looked at it.”

Trying to avoid answering his question, Jessica asked, “Why would Melanie give these to you again?”

“Why did you lie to me? Does it bother you to see me with Melanie?”

Bullseye
. She couldn’t believe what he’d just said. How could he be so casual about her feelings? Infuriated, her thoughts whirled and her head started to pound. Even so, she couldn’t admit her feelings to him. What would be the point? Clearly, he was with Melanie now. “Why should I care about you and Melanie?” She held up her left ring finger, moving it so that the diamond sparkled. “I’m marrying Alex.” The lie tasted bitter.
 

Kyle’s smile faded a bit. “So you’ve decided then?”

“Yes,” Jessica snapped.

“When’s the big day?”

“We haven’t set a date yet.” And we never will, she thought, since I’m going to end it with him.

“Well, I’m happy for you.”

It felt like a giant rock had settled in Jessica’s stomach. She wasn’t happy at all. In fact, she was miserable. Not only was she not going to be with Alex, she was also fully aware that Kyle and Melanie would be riding off into the sunset together. “Thanks.” She barely managed to get the word out.

“I guess I should finish this up.” Kyle vaguely motioned to the bathroom. “I’ll be done tiling in a couple of hours, but by next week I’ll be completely done in here, and then I’ll be out of your life for good.”

Overwhelming sadness flooded her as she nodded, then left the room, and trudged back down to the sunroom and her laptop.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jessica worked on her programming project, but her vision kept blurring as her eyes filled with tears. Why can’t I find happiness? I know I don’t need a man to be happy, but I want to get married. She stared at the diamond ring on her finger. No, not to Alex. I want to be with Kyle.

Fresh tears welled up as she slid the ring off of her finger and set it on the table next to her. I refuse to be with someone I’m not deeply in love with, even if that means I’m going to be alone, she thought resolutely.
 

Jessica went into the bathroom and splashed cool water on her face, then patted it dry and stared at herself in the mirror. “Don’t worry,” she said to her reflection. “Everything will work out.” She looked away. “Yeah, right.” She blew her nose, then went back to the sunroom and tried to focus on work.

Again she considered telling Kyle about Douglas and her suspicions, but she just couldn’t face him after their fight. What good would it do anyway? He probably wouldn’t even believe her.

An hour later she heard Kyle going up and down the stairs, evidently taking things out to his truck. Finally, all was silent, and she wondered if he’d left. Hurrying to the front window, she looked out and saw him driving away. She dropped the curtains in place, then went back to the sunroom and settled in a chair. She picked up her laptop, but couldn’t bring herself to begin working. Staring at the cheerful room, Jessica wallowed in self-pity.
 

Hudson must have sensed her despair, because moments later he jumped onto her lap and began purring. She held him close, the warmth of his soft body lifting her mood slightly.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the front door.
 

“Who could that be?” Jessica asked Hudson as she set him on the floor. Maybe Kyle forgot something and had to come back, she thought, her mood brightening. As she walked to the door she tried to think of what she would say to him. Should I confess that I’m still in love with him? Would that matter to him now? Or would he just feel sorry for me that I can’t get over him?

I’ll just follow his lead, she thought as she turned the knob and pulled the door open.

A man stood on her porch. A man she wished she had never heard of. She didn’t speak as she stared at Douglas Harrington, but her heart raced and panic flooded her veins.

“Jessica. How nice to see you again.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Did you ever decide about a car for your aunt
Debra
?”

“No.” By the way he said her mother’s name, Jessica had a feeling he knew she had lied about her aunt’s name.

“I’d like to speak with you. May I come in?”

No!
She wanted to shout. “This isn’t a good time.”

“That’s too bad. But you see, this is the best time for me. So I’m going to have to insist.”

Jessica swung the door closed, but it hit something and wouldn’t shut. She glanced down and saw Douglas’s foot jammed into the space between the door and the wall. She spun away and ran. Just as she rounded the corner into the sunroom, she felt a powerful grip on her arm. Flailing her arms in Douglas’s direction, she nearly broke free, but he was strong and held on. “Let me go!”

“I just want to talk to you.” He squeezed her arm harder.
 

“No!” Jessica kicked his legs. He grunted but didn’t release her.

He dragged her to a chair in the living room and tried forcing her to sit. She battled him every step of the way.
 

“I need you to sit down,” he yelled as he swung his fist toward her head, connecting with her skull.

Jessica slumped into the chair, unconscious. When she woke a short time later, she found her wrists and ankles bound with duct tape, and Douglas Harrington sitting directly in front of her. Although he’d left her arms in front of her, he had bound them tightly. She tried pulling them apart, but they wouldn’t budge, and her head pounded as she met his eyes.

“Good. You’re awake. Now, I want you to tell me what you know about William Donohoe.”

Terrified, Jessica had trouble making the right words come out of her mouth. “He’s going to be here soon.”

Douglas didn’t look concerned. “Who’s going to be here soon? Kyle?”

Jessica nodded, surprised that he knew who she was thinking of.

He laughed, and the sound of it sent fear coursing through her.

“No, Jessica. He’s not. You see, I spoke to him earlier. He told me he was going to be available this afternoon while he’s waiting for the tile to set, and I hired him to do some work at one of my businesses. He was going to start there as soon as he was done here.” Douglas smirked. “And wouldn’t you know it? I watched him leave here not long ago. Now, I need you to answer my question.”

“My fiancé is on his way over.” Jessica hoped she sounded convincing.

Douglas smiled. “That might be true, except that I saw him leaving town right after he brought you home. How was that lunch date?”

“How do you know we had lunch?” He knew too much, and Jessica knew she was in serious trouble.

“Right after I saw you leave Thomas Naylor’s house, I followed you.”

Jessica’s mouth went dry.

“Now, are there any other men you’re expecting?”

Jessica didn’t answer, not wanting to admit that no one else would be coming.

“Okay. Now we can get down to business.” He paused. “I know you know all about my parents, because I found the letters in your room.”

“How did you find them?” Jessica asked, finally finding her voice.
 

“I’m very good at finding what I’m looking for.”

“But how did you know I even had them?”

“You and your aunt
Ellen
talk too much. And I have a lot of friends.”

“Leave my aunt out of this.” Jessica suddenly felt fearful for her aunt’s safety as he obviously knew who she was.

“Right now you need to be concerned about yourself.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to know what you know.”

She didn’t want to admit that she believed he had killed both William and Teal, but since he knew she had read the letters, she could admit what she’d learned by reading them. “I know that William Donohoe is your real father.”

“It might have been his DNA that created me,” Douglas sneered. “But my father is Charles Harrington.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone your secret. I promise.”

“I think we both know there’s more to it than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“While you were at lunch, I went back to Thomas’s house and had a little chat with him.”

Jessica’s heart felt like it was sinking into her stomach.

“He told me what he told you,” Douglas said, a calm look on his face.

“He didn’t tell me anything.”

Douglas laughed. “There’s no need to lie to me, Jessica. I know you figured it out.”

She shook her head violently. “No, I don’t know anything.”

“I haven’t underestimated you. I know you’re a smart woman. You know that neither William nor my mother’s deaths were accidents.” He leaned a little closer. “Don’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” Jessica asked frantically, trying to convince him she didn’t know anything.

He frowned. “If you’re telling me the truth, then it’s just too bad. Because now I’ve told you something that I just can’t have you repeating.”

“I won’t! I promise I won’t!”

He chuckled. “A promise. How nice. Like the promise my mother made to my father to be faithful. That didn’t last long, did it?”

“That’s not my fault,” Jessica said. “Please let me go.”

“I can’t let you go. Not now. You know too much.” He paused, thoughtful. “The question is, what does your aunt know?”

“Nothing. I haven’t talked to her since I talked to Thomas.”

He frowned, like he didn’t believe her.

“I’m telling the truth!”

“As opposed to before when you said you didn’t know anything?”

Jessica couldn’t live with herself if anything happened to her aunt. “Yes.”

“Yes? Like, yes you figured it out?”

“Yes, okay!? Yes, I figured it out, but I didn’t tell my aunt.”

“Okay. Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“Why did you kill them? Why?”

“They both betrayed my father and they wanted to drag me down with them.”

“What do you mean? How would that drag you down?”

“You saw what William wrote in his letter to my mother. He wanted to tell me he was my father. And he did. But I had a father. A very successful father. I didn’t need this old man, who I didn’t even know, making claims that would destroy my future.”

“So you killed him?”

Douglas pressed his lips together for a moment. “Yes.” He paused. “And I’d do it again.”

“But your mother? Why did you kill her?”

“Come on, Jessica. Think.”

“Because she figured out what you’d done.”

“Yes, that’s the main reason.”

“Why else?” Jessica tried to keep him talking as she frantically tried to think of a way to escape.

“Because she was a slut. She was married to my father and she cheated on him. For a long time.”

 
“You mother called herself B in her letters. What did that stand for?” As she spoke, her gaze surreptitiously searched the room for something to defend herself with.

Douglas laughed. “You didn’t figure that one out, huh? Teal is the name of a bird. William came up with the cutsie nickname ‘Birdie’. Isn’t that sweet?”

Jessica nodded as she glanced at a heavy lamp sitting on a nearby table. If I can grab that, she thought, I might be able to hit him with it. “Douglas,” Jessica said, pretending like she was his friend. “I understand how you must have felt. I can’t really even blame you for what you did. If you let me go, I promise I won’t tell anyone what I know.” She paused. “Besides, I don’t have any proof. Who would believe me?”

“That’s true,” he said.

Jessica felt a sliver of hope.
 

“But I can’t take the chance,” he continued.

“Look. I’ll leave town. Tonight. Now. And I’ll never come back.” She heard the desperation in her voice and knew he did too.

Douglas shook his head. “I’d like to trust you, Jessica. Really I would. But I just can’t.”

“If something happens to me, Thomas Naylor will know it was you.”

“Oh, I guess you haven’t heard. Poor Thomas. He had a heart attack today. He keeled right over.”

Jessica felt all hope slipping away.

“Now I feel satisfied that I know what I need to.” He pulled a knife out of a sheath that had been hidden behind his back.

Jessica screamed and began kicking her bound legs toward him.

“Stop,” he yelled. “I just want to cut the tape off of your ankles.”

Jessica stopped struggling and let him cut the tape, then she held out her wrists.

“I just need you to be able to walk,” he said, ignoring her outstretched hands. He put the knife back in the sheath, then gripped one of her upper arms and pulled her up from the chair.
 

Jessica dropped to the ground, becoming dead weight, but Douglas held on.