Dropping the hoe, I wrapped my arms around his neck and breathed in his familiar scent. His hands encircled my waist and he kissed my forehead and my cheek before finding my lips. He kissed me deeply, urgently, and I knew in that moment how worried he’d been.
“I can’t leave you alone for ten minutes,” he growled when he finally released me.
I handed Sean the shed key. “Jasper’s inside. I don’t know what his intentions were, but I think the fight’s gone out of him.”
Pointing at my garden hoe, Sean asked, “Did you assault him?”
“No. I was just holding on to this in case he got out.” I dropped the tool onto the ground and looked up as a second policeman jogged toward us. “I’m cold and my leg hurts, so I think I’ll head inside. Besides, I don’t want to watch you guys take Jasper away. This place is my only haven.” I made a gesture meant to encompass the house, the yard, and the shed. “I’d like to wake up in the morning still feeling that way.”
Sean nodded and then, leaning close to me, whispered, “Officer McKeon will be booking Jasper. I’m staying here tonight.”
When I looked surprised, he barked out a laugh. “Oh, Lila. You’re hurt and we’re both too damned exhausted for more than a hug and kiss good night followed by eight hours of spooning.” His eyes were shining with mirth. “Listen, lady, you’ve closed two open cases in one day. You’re making the Dunston Police Department look inept, so I’m sleeping over to make sure that you’ve gone off duty for the rest of the night. Got it?”
Smiling, I said, “Got it. And I’m hoping that the sudden decrease in the crime rate means that you and I will be spending more time together.”
He pointed at my leg. “Just don’t be in any rush for that to mend, because when all my paperwork has been filed, I’m going to spend my time sweeping you off your feet.”
I liked the sound of that.
I MET UP with Makayla at the police station the next morning. Sean had driven me there so I could give my statement, and Makayla appeared to do the same. I waited for her in the lobby while she finished, and then she offered to give me a ride home.
“I don’t know how I’ll manage to get through my day,” Makayla said as she started the engine. “I hardly slept a wink last night. Couldn’t get that nasty, evil man out of my mind. I was relieved that my bash on his noggin only gave him a slight concussion. The last thing I’d want to do is kill somebody, even if he’s a lowlife, scumbag murderer.” She looked at me. “How’d you sleep?”
“Surprisingly well. Knowing that both Justyn and Jasper were in police custody helped.” I couldn’t keep from smiling, “Besides, having Sean sleep over made me feel safe. I conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Just like that? You and Romeo didn’t knock boots first? I’d think you’d be clinging to that man like a kudzu vine.”
I shook my head, amused by the image. “I crawled into bed and was gone.” My cheeks got hot. “Though it was really tempting to spend the whole morning in bed. Too bad neither Sean nor I could play hooky today. At least we got to snuggle for a bit.” Wanting to keep the memory of those brief moments to myself, I changed the subject. “Did Sean tell you what made Justyn track Melissa and Tilly down?”
She nodded. “Something about him being desperate to get ahold of his mother’s medical records. Why he couldn’t have gone through proper channels is beyond me. I know filling out paperwork is a drag, but Lordy, he didn’t have to go postal over a little bureaucracy.”
“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Apparently, he’d recently been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and had to give himself daily injections, something he hated. He blamed his birth mother for his condition and wanted to confront her,” I began.
Makayla made a sympathetic noise. “That’s a tough illness to have.”
“It wasn’t just the diabetes that was tough.” I sighed. “This is going to sound like I’m defending him, which I’m not, but he had a hard and loveless childhood in Dunston and then grew up to enjoy a hard and loveless adulthood in the same town. He wanted someone to pay for that. In any case, Social Services wouldn’t give him his mother’s identity, but the clerk he spoke with inadvertently revealed the caseworker’s name. That was Melissa Plume. That started him on his quest for vengeance.”
“But why hurt Melissa?” Makayla shook her head, perplexed. “What did he have against her? She wasn’t the one who gave him up when he was a baby.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think he intended to kill her. He just wanted information from her. He wanted to scare her into telling him about his mother, Tilly. And he confused me for her at first and that’s why he left me the raven’s feather and came after me in the hallway of the town hall. Unfortunately, when he finally did manage to get Melissa alone, something in him snapped. Perhaps her answers frustrated him and he attacked in a rage. Perhaps he blamed her for placing him in all those unhappy foster homes, since she was his caseworker. I guess he was already pretty unstable.”