And now luck had smiled on him again.
Although his arm still ached like hell, he whistled the song that’d been on his radio as he let himself into his house. He’d run out of painkillers while he was on duty, had to take the risk of buying more at the Quick Stop just so he could manage to drive home. But anyone could have a headache. Miraculously, he’d acted normal throughout his shift; he doubted anyone could say he might’ve taken a bullet. And now he had all day to recover before reporting back to the prison tonight. As long as his wound didn’t get infected, he’d overcome his recent setbacks and that would leave him free to make the next move.
He carried the bottle of Tylenol Extra Strength into the house, removed his uniform and crawled into bed. He wanted Brianne to call, wanted to spend time with her. He thought it would be funny to strike up a romantic relationship with her, if he could. But he was in no shape to take her out right now, even if she did call. He needed sleep.
He’d give her a few days, and if he didn’t hear from her he’d hang around town, hoping to run into her again.
20
“You’re “pregnant?” Evelyn wouldn’t have been so distraught at this news except that Brianne had just told her Jeff had found someone else. The wedding was off, exactly as Amarok had suspected.
Brianne tucked her feet beneath her on the couch as she cradled a glass of water in her lap. Evelyn had offered her some Salmonberry Wine, had pressed her when she refused—Brianne loved wine. That was when, instead of continuing to turn it down, Brianne had finally said she couldn’t drink. “Pregnant and on my own,” she added wryly.
“But … is there any chance you and Jeff will get back together? You—you were so much in love.”
Her lips curved into a bitter smile. “I still love him. Problem is, he doesn’t love me. He’s already with someone else, someone he started seeing while we were together.”
Evelyn set her glass on the coffee table. “You mean he cheated on you?”
“Claims he didn’t. She’s a new hire at his firm. A paralegal the partners assigned to him. From what he told me, he felt a spark from the beginning. He broke off our relationship so he could ‘pursue’ what he was feeling for her.”
“But you were planning to get married! You’ve been planning the wedding for months!”
She laughed without mirth. “Good thing he bailed now. If she’d started at the firm any later, we would’ve gone through with it all, and then I’d be looking at a divorce.”
Evelyn scooted closer. “Brianne, I’m so sorry! Why didn’t you tell me this was happening?”
Brianne stared down at her own lap. “Because I haven’t been able to talk about it. This was such a sudden reversal and so painful that I closed up and tried to cope the best I could. I didn’t feel I could say anything to Mom, and it always seems like you’re going through enough out here.”
“So Mom and Dad don’t know.…”
“Not yet.”
Every conversation Evelyn had with Lara these days revolved around the wedding. She’d be as devastated as Brianne. “When will you tell them?”
“Haven’t decided for sure, probably when I get home. At first I thought Jeff just had the jitters about making a lifelong commitment and that he’d come back to me when he realized how much he missed me.” Brianne pulled the tie from her hair, then put it back up. “Most spurned lovers probably tell themselves that kind of nonsense. But when I found out I was pregnant—”
“Exactly when was that?” Evelyn broke in.
“Ten days ago. I’m two months, due in April.”
“You’ve known that long and didn’t reach out to me?”
“I was working up to it. But then Amarok called and told me you had a missing person out here, and I decided I should wait until that was resolved.”
Evelyn studied her sister, searching for signs to indicate how hard she was taking this turn of events. “Does Jeff know about the baby?”
“I told him as soon as I heard the news.”
“And…”
Her chest lifted as if the memory stung. “He asked me to get an abortion.”
Evelyn’s heart sank. “That must’ve been devastating.”
She cleared her throat. “Let’s just say that’s when I understood he wasn’t coming back.”
“Ouch.”
“No kidding.”
“He’ll help out financially, though…”
“Of course. He’ll have no choice.”
Still … “I feel terrible for you, Bri.”
“I’ll be fine. Let’s not get maudlin about it.” She laughed, but trying to deny the pain only made her eyes fill with tears. “Worse things have happened, right?” She wiped her cheeks with irritation. “It’s a blessing I’m not marrying someone who wouldn’t be satisfied with me. And I’m in my thirties. If I’m ever going to have a child, why not do it now? I just … I don’t know how I’ll handle motherhood while I’m putting in the hours I do at the hospital. Then there’s Mom, of course.”
Evelyn straightened her spine. “I thought you hadn’t told Mom.”
Her sister’s eyebrows drew together. “I haven’t. I’m afraid to. Her anxiety and depression are getting worse, not better, Evelyn.”
“Is she taking her meds?”
“Dad says she is, but they don’t seem to be helping.”
“Then she needs to try something else.”
“What else? You’re the psychiatrist, and yet I’m the one who’s dealing with her on a day-to-day basis!”
The resentment her sister felt had finally come to the surface. “You’re tired of handling Mom and Dad on your own.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “I’ve tried to be patient and supportive. For most of my life I’ve deferred to what would be best for you. What you went through was terrible, unspeakable. It’s amazing you recovered and did everything you’ve done. But I don’t know when it’s my turn for a little help and understanding, Evelyn. Do I even get a turn?”
“Of course you do! I’ve only committed to five years here in Alaska, have three left, and then—”
“And then what?” she broke in. “You sign on for another five years? What happens if we need you? Does it matter? Can you pull away from this place, or are you so fascinated by your work here that you won’t give it up, no matter what? And what’s the point in what you’re doing? Do you ever ask yourself that anymore? Do you really feel you’ve made a difference? That you can figure out a way to rehabilitate psychopaths when no one else has been able to make a dent in the problem? From what I can tell, building Hanover House, especially here, has done more harm than good.”
Evelyn felt as if Brianne had slapped her. There was so much she could say, so many arguments she could make. Just because no one had figured out how to solve the problem yet didn’t mean she should give up and walk away. If she and the other researchers took such a defeatist attitude, how would society ever minimize the pain and suffering caused by psychopaths?
But she’d said all of that before. And it was the last thing she’d heard that cut the deepest. “I didn’t get to choose where they put Hanover House. The site committee did that.”
“You wanted it so badly, I don’t think you cared where they put it—or whether it would be good for the community that had to accept it. You were willing to travel to the ends of the earth, so long as you could get your precious research facility. You’ve proven that. Here you are. You have what you wanted, and yet all I ever hear about is crisis after crisis.”
“You don’t see any value in what I’m trying to do?”
“I know you mean well, but I don’t understand why it has to be you.”
“Jasper kills wherever he goes, Bri! And he’ll keep on killing until someone stops him. His obsession with me might mean he’ll kill people in Alaska instead of Arizona, but one way or the other, he causes suffering. That’s what he does. That’s what he delights in doing!”
“Do you really want him killing here?”
She didn’t want him killing anywhere. “That’s not the point.”