Marta Perry - Murder in Plain Sight

He was holding his breath as he brushed the white curtain aside. Jessica sat on the edge of a bed, her left arm in a sling. She looked at him and smiled, and he expelled the breath in a relieved sigh.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course she’s not okay.” Mom was scolding, as she did when she was worried. “Goodness, just look at her. What a thing to happen.”

“It’s not serious,” Jessica said, patting her hand as if Mom were the one who needed to be comforted. “One sprained wrist, a nice assortment of bruises and a mild concussion. I’d say I got off pretty lightly.”

He didn’t shift his gaze from hers. “You gave us quite a scare.”

She attempted another smile, but it seemed to tremble on her lips. “I imagine this is one singing the kids won’t soon forget.”

“Or me.” He wasn’t touching her, and the words were as casual as they could be. But a world of emotion was sizzling between them, so strong he was surprised no one else in the room could feel it.

“One thing’s certain,” his mother declared. “You’re not going back to that motel tonight. You’re coming home with us, where I can take care of you.”

“You don’t need to…” Jessica began, but Trey shook his head at her.

“Don’t argue this one, Counselor. You’ll lose.”

“Well, now, I’d suggest that I drive Geneva to the motel to pick up whatever Jessica might need,” Leo said. “That way Trey can take her straight to the farm and get her comfortable.”

“Good idea. I’ll go pull the truck around whenever they’re ready to release you.” His gaze still clung to hers. “Right?” If she argued, he just might pick her up and carry her to the truck.

She touched the side of her head gingerly. “Right.”

ALL TREY COULD THINK, when he jogged out to the truck and pulled up at the emergency room entrance, was that he had to get Jessica someplace safe. Home. Once she was there, once he knew nothing else could happen to her, he could think this whole thing through.

The light over the E.R. door made a bright pool of illumination, surrounded by shadows. And he was jumping at those shadows, scanning the shrubbery as if someone lurked there.

The doors slid silently open, and he jumped out of the truck as a nurse pushed a wheelchair through. Jessica, pale in the artificial light, looked as if it took an effort to hold her head up. His mother and Leo emerged behind them, Mom still talking. Nerves, probably. She’d always been a pillar of strength when any of them damaged themselves, saving her reaction for afterward.

“You go along to the motel, Mom. We’ll see you back at the house.”

Leo, meeting his eyes for an instant, took her by the arm. “Come on, Geneva. Jessica will want her things so she can get settled comfortably for the night.”

Jessica rose, the nurse steadying her. “I can-”

Before she could insist that she could climb into the cab by herself, he picked her up, sliding her into the passenger seat without a word. He pulled the seat belt down and watched as she fastened it, then he closed the door and called out his thanks to the nurse, who was already headed back inside.

Once in the truck, he took a careful look at her. “Ready?”

She managed a faint smile. “I’m well enough to sit here. Honest.”

“I know your head must be pounding.” He drove carefully down the hospital drive. “I’ll take it easy.”

“Actually, thanks to the medication, it’s down to a dull roar.” She touched her head with cautious fingers. “I don’t know what it was, but I think it’ll make me sleep tonight.” She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes, her lashes making dark crescents against her cheeks.

The urge to talk about what had happened was strong, but he managed to beat it down. “Let yourself drift off, if you want. I’ll wake you when we get to the house.”

Jessica was obviously in no shape to go over the accident again tonight. Besides, what could she add to what he knew himself?

The hay bales had toppled over. Despite his doubts, he had to admit that it could have happened accidentally. Vibrations, maybe, caused by the number of people going in and out of the barn. Or she’d leaned on it, somehow dislodging a bale.

Trouble was, he didn’t believe any of that. If someone had been up there in the loft, watching them, biding his time until Jessica was alone…

He glanced toward her. He didn’t like thinking that way, but they couldn’t ignore the warning notes she’d received. Someone wanted Jessica off the case. How far would they go to make that happen?

He sensed, rather than saw, her move. “Are you okay? Am I going too fast?”

“You’re fine. I’m just feeling guilty, coming in on your mother like this.”

“There’s nothing my mother likes better than company. And at least-”

“At least what?” she asked, when he didn’t finish the thought.

“At least while someone’s there with her, she won’t be as apt to do something foolish.”

“Your mother doesn’t strike me as a foolish person.” Jessica’s voice stiffened.

“My mother is one of the sanest people I know,” he said. “But she imagines she can do almost anything she thinks of. A month ago I found her up on a ladder, trying to move a bird’s nest from the eaves. Sam was at the bottom of the ladder, trying to follow her up. It’s a wonder they didn’t both break their necks.”

He said it lightly, but he couldn’t forget the panic he’d felt when he rounded the house and saw her. He’d already lost his father too early. He didn’t intend to lose his mother.

“That does sound a little rash. But if there was no one else to do it…”

“There were a dozen people within a mile radius who’d have run over to help her. She just didn’t want to ask.”

“I can understand that, I think.” Jessica’s voice was drowsy. “She doesn’t want to be a burden.”

“She could never be a burden.” He almost snapped the words. Jessica was the last person in the world he should expect would be on his side. She was as independent as his mother, and probably twice as stubborn.

She fell silent, and he thought she did doze a little. When he pulled up at the front door, she stirred. “There already?”

He nodded. “Don’t move. I’ll come around and help you down.”

Predictably, she already had the door open and was starting to slide out when he reached her. He caught her around the waist and lowered her gently to the pavement.

“How do you think that would feel when your feet hit the ground?” he scolded.

“Not too great,” she admitted. She steadied herself, holding on to his arms. “I can walk.”

“Stubborn,” he muttered, and she looked up and smiled at him.

“Just a little.”

With his arm around her waist, they made short work of the distance to the door. As he put his key in the lock, Sam greeted them with a single, full-throated bark.

“Good boy,” he said as they went in. He guided Jessica down the hallway to the family room. “Let’s settle you on the sofa in the family room until Mom arrives. She’ll insist on fussing over you. Take my advice and let her. It’s easier than arguing about it.”

“Right.” She sank down on the sofa with a little sigh, and she didn’t object when he guided her to lean against a pillow and lifted her legs to the sofa.

He pulled the knitted afghan off the back of the sofa and tucked it over her. “Do you want anything? Some tea, maybe?”

“I’ll wait and let your mother fix it.”

“Now you’ve got the idea,” he said approvingly. He pulled the hassock over so that he could sit down next to her. “I’m sure your mother would be the same way. It comes with the territory.”