Swingin' in the Rain (27 page)

  Across from us Jakes had drawn his gun and was pointing it at Carver, who had taken a quick step toward me and grabbed my arm. He pulled me in front of him. I could feel his gun in my ribs. My heart was beating hard enough to jump out of my chest.

  “Put it down, Carver.”

  “Now you know I’m serious,” Carver said. “Now you know I’ll kill ‘er.”

  “I’m not lettin’ you out of here, Carver,” Jakes said.

  “I’m leavin’, Jakes, and I’m takin’ Alex with me. I’ll call and tell you where to meet me with the last DVD.”

  ”You’ve got all of them in your hand,” Jakes said. “Let her go.”

  “Naw,” Carver said, “I don’t buy it.”

  “And what good is hidin’ them now?” Jakes asked. “They don’t incriminate you, but killin’ Rockland right in front of witnesses sure does.”

  I could feel Carver’s mind working.

  “We’re gettin’ out of here,” he said, backing up toward a sliding glass door behind us.

  “Carver—“ Jakes said, warningly.

  “We start shootin’ in here that little girl might get hurt, Jakes,” Carver said, still dragging me back to the door.

  “It’s over, Carver! You can’t kill everybody.”

  “Then I’ll just have to settle for killin’ Alex, won’t I?”

  “Damn it--” Jakes said.

  We reached the door. Both of Carver’s hands were full—one with the gun, and one with me--so he said to me, “Open it.”

  “No.”

  “I’ll start shootin’ and your daughter will come runnin’ down the hall. A bullet might even hit her,” he said in my ear. “Open it.”

  I reached behind us, found the lock, flicked it and slid the glass door open. The rain and wind came rushing in, but Carver pulled me outside.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  Jakes told me later that he rushed to Rockland’s side. The detective was still breathing, but it was labored and his color was bad.

  “Sam—“

  “Get Carver...” was all he said before he passed out.

  Jakes ran to the sliding door, gun in his hand and dashed out into the storm . . .

  We were in the back yard, part of which had already slid down the mountain with Randy. The wind was whipping us around, the rain stung like tiny little needles. Now that Sarah wasn’t within range I started to struggle.

  “Stop fightin’ me, bitch!” Carver said.

  We were in the center of the yard and he was looking for a way out.  Actually, it used to be the center of the yard. Since part of it had fallen away in an earlier storm we were now closer to the edge. If we went over, we’d fall a lot further than Randy had. Because of all the erosion, it was now a sheer drop to the Pacific Coast Highway.

  “Carver!” I heard Jakes yell, but I could hardly see him. And if I couldn’t see him, that meant he couldn’t see us. And if he couldn’t see us, he couldn’t save me, and he was so supposed to save me.

  “Jakes. Jakes, over here!”

  “I’ll kill him!” Carver shouted to me.

  Some of his long hair was whipping around in the wind. The rest was plastered to his head. His hat was long gone. I tried to pull out of his grasp.

  “Bitch,” he shouted, again.

  I was getting tired of being called that.

  “Alex!” Jakes was closer.

  Carver raised his gun and fired. I didn’t know if he could see Jakes, or if he was firing wildly. Either way, he might hit him. I stomped on his instep and he flung me to the ground angrily.

  “Stop. Calling. Me. Bitch.” I pulled up my legs and kicked him with all the force I could muster.

  He staggered backwards, then he was falling. His arms waved crazily as if he was trying to fly.

  I reached out to grab him but it was too late.

  Carver was gone . . .

  I felt Jakes’ strong arms grab me and drag me to my feet. He hugged me tightly, then pulled me back to the house. We went back in through the sliding glass door and closed it. Tonja was standing in the middle of the living room.

  “Where’s my daughter?” I demanded.

  “She’s still in her room,” she answered, a slight look of regret on her face. “Look, Alex, I never would have let anything happen to her.” She shrugged. “Times are tough. I needed the money.”

  I looked at her with utter contempt.

   “Vincent?” Tonja asked as Jakes handcuffed her to a door.

  “He’s gone,” Jakes said. “He went over the cliff.” Then Jakes walked across the room to check on Rockland, but he was dead.

  “I better call this in,” he said. “I’ll have a lot of explaining to do.”

  I started toward the bedroom to get Sarah. As I walked past Tonja I stopped to look at her. Then I surprised myself when I hauled off and punched her right in the face. She went down so loosely I knew I had knocked her out. Cold. She was lying on the floor, one arm hanging from the cuffed doorknob, looking like a broken doll.

  I opened the bedroom door to find Sarah on the floor. She was still playing with her Barbies. I ran to her and scooped her up in my arms.

  “Hi, Baby! You okay?” I hugged her tightly.

  “Yeah, Mommy.”

  “Oh, Sweetie, I’m so, so glad.”

  “I’m sad about Daddy.”

  “I know you’re sad about your Dad, Honey, but you know you always have me. Forever and ever, right?”

  Jakes walked in and sat down on the floor next to us.

  “And Jakes, too, right?” Sarah asked, reaching her little arms out to him. “We have Jakes, too, forever and ever?”

  Jakes looked at me, questioning with his eyes.

  I smiled and slowly nodded to him.

  “Yes, Sarah. You have me forever and ever, too,” he said.

  He wrapped his arms around both of us. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

  “Mommy, that’s gross!”

  We sat there crying and laughing until the squad cars pulled up in front of the house.