Beverly Barton - Silent Killer

“You’ve got it all wrong.”

“What part have I got wrong?”

“Mark knew I was pregnant, and he knew who my baby’s father was,” Cathy said. “We were not in love, but eventually we grew to love each other. And your father…Mark loved you as if you were his own.”

“But I wasn’t his, was I? I was-I am Jackson Perdue’s bastard!”

Dear God, her worst nightmare was coming true right before her very eyes and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it from happening. The best she could hope for was that Seth would give her a chance to explain everything. But even then, was he mature enough to understand and to forgive her?

“I loved Jack. And he loved me.” Cathy tried to keep her voice calm, despite the fact that her emotions were screaming. “You were conceived in that love.”

“Why the hell didn’t you just get an abortion instead of-?”

“Never suggest such a thing. Not once did the thought ever cross my mind. I loved and wanted you from the moment I knew I was pregnant. You were my baby. A part of Jack and me.”

“Does he know?”

Cathy took a moment to steady her nerves before replying. “Yes, Jack knows.”

“How long has he known? Did he know back then, before you married someone else?”

“No, he didn’t know back then. I didn’t tell him.” How could I have told him when he was missing in action half a world away and presumed dead? “I-I told him last night. I realized that it was way past time for me to be honest with him…and with you. I intended to tell you, too, as soon as-”

“How’d he take the news that he has an almost-sixteen-year-old kid?”

Cathy froze. What was the best way to respond to his question?

Seth laughed, the sound a harsh, sarcastic chuckle. “Don’t bother answering. The look on your face says it all.”

“No, Seth, you don’t understand.”

“I hate you. You don’t know how much I hate you. I hate you, and I hate Jack. Damn you both!”

He turned and stomped toward the door. When she followed him and grabbed his arm, he shook her off, opened the door and rushed out onto the porch. She tried to catch up with him, but he ran off down the street, his long legs flying at a speed she couldn’t equal. She called his name several times, then stood there in the middle of the road and watched him disappear.

Cathy wrapped her arms around her waist. She couldn’t move, could barely breathe. She had to find Seth and talk to him. She had to make him understand.

But would he listen to her? Probably not.

First she needed to tell Jack what happened, even if it meant barging in on him at work. She had no choice.

Of all the public-service assignments she was forced to do to repay her debt to society, Felicity found only one of any real interest to her. Her position at the animal shelter would last two weeks, and today had been the first day of her second week. She had become fond of several dogs, one in particular, a mutt she had nicknamed Freckles because the pup had small black spots all over his white face and neck. Because her grandmother disliked animals in general and dogs in particular, she and Charity had never been allowed to own a pet. But now that she was older and could care for a dog all by herself, surely she could talk her dad into letting her adopt Freckles.

She had called her mom and told her not to pick her up at noon when her morning shift at the shelter ended.

“I want to have lunch with Dad,” Felicity had said. “It’s only five blocks from here to the church. I can walk there in no time.”

Preoccupied with Missy, her mother had easily agreed to her request. Mom had her hands full with Missy’s problems, the latest of which was her being questioned in yet another murder case. To say that her mom had been neglecting the rest of them ever since Missy had become a member of their family was an understatement. Missy had been a nuisance for quite some time, ever since Felicity realized that Seth Cantrell had a thing for her. Seth was blinded by Missy’s blond beauty and her damsel-in-distress persona. Now the whole world felt sorry for Missy. Yeah, okay, even she did, at least to a certain extent. Imagine being repeatedly raped by your own father. Yuck!

Felicity arrived at the church at twelve-fifteen, quickly made her way downstairs and hurried toward her father’s office in the basement. Her footsteps were muffled by the cushioned layer of industrial-strength carpet that covered the basement floor. The outer door to the minister’s office stood wide open, so Felicity walked in, expecting to see Erin McKinley at her desk. But the outer office was empty.

As she opened the door to her father’s private office, she started to knock but stopped dead still when she saw Erin and her father kissing. Erin had her arms around Felicity’s father’s neck, and he was gripping her on either side of her waist.

Shocked beyond belief, Felicity backed up slowly, quietly turned around and ran into the hallway. She was halfway up the stairs when she heard her father calling her name.

He had nothing to say that she wanted to hear.

Her father was an adulterous blasphemer.

Just how long had he been having an affair with his secretary?

Oh, mercy! Her poor, sweet mother!

“Let her go, John Earl.” Erin came up and grasped his arm. “Maybe it was for the best. Better that she know now, that everyone knows.”

John Earl glared at his secretary, a woman he had thought of as a loyal employee and a good friend. He’d never thought of her as anything more and had had no idea she harbored any romantic feelings for him. Not until today. Not until a few minutes ago, when she had kissed him.

They had been talking, just talking. He’d been using her as a sounding board for his concerns about the situation with Missy. Erin had been consoling him, agreeing with him that perhaps Ruth Ann’s kind heart had led her to take on Missy as a charity case while neglecting her own two daughters, at least temporarily.

“Ruth Ann is a good woman, but she isn’t perfect. And she doesn’t love you the way I do. I’d never put anyone else’s needs before yours,” Erin had told him. “You would always come first with me.”

That’s when she had thrown her arms around his neck, told him again that she loved him madly and then kissed him. Thrown off guard by her actions, it had taken him a few seconds to respond by grabbing her waist and pushing her away. Unfortunately, Felicity had walked in and seen Erin kissing him and had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

John Earl grasped Erin’s shoulders and looked directly at her. “Erin, I’m sorry if I’ve ever done anything to lead you on, to make you believe that I reciprocated your feelings.”

She stared at him, her eyes wide and filled with disbelief. “But I love you. I’ve loved you forever. I know that if you’ll only admit it to yourself, you love me, too.”

He gave her shoulders a sound squeeze, then released her. “I believe it best if you go home for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss how best to handle your resignation.”

“You’re firing me?”

“No, no,” John Earl assured her. “But under the circumstances…I’ll give you an excellent reference and help you find other employment. Now, please, Erin, go home. I need to call Ruth Ann and tell her what happened, and then I need to find my daughter and explain to her that what she thought she saw-”

Erin slapped him, then spun around and marched back into the office. He had to admit that he hadn’t seen that slap coming any more than he had the kiss.

Half a minute later, with her leather bag hung over her shoulder, Erin swept past him without a glance. He returned to his office, picked up the phone and called his wife. He had to put a lid on this before it exploded in his face and his entire family got hurt.