Erica Spindler - Cause for Alarm

Luke turned her into his arms. She laid her face to his shoulder, her tears spilling over. "I hate myself for that, Luke. I feel so guilty. So disloyal."

"You are not responsible for Richard's death, Kate. You didn't cause it. And neither did Julianna. John Powers murdered Richard. He's the one you should blame, the one who should be punished. Not you."

"I hate him," she said softly, fiercely, tipping her face up to Luke's. "He's not just a monster. He's the devil. And God help me, I want him dead."

"The Agency will take care of him, Kate. We have to focus on getting what we need to make that happen."

She nodded and drew away from him, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She dragged in a shuddering breath. "What next?"

"Let's shake this bastard up a little bit, that's what." Luke smiled grimly. "Do you have a lipstick?"

Kate went to her purse, dug one out and handed it to him. "Very Berry okay?"

He uncapped it and rolled up the stick, admiring the color. "Perfect."

"What are you-"

"I'm going to leave him a message, that's what." He rolled up the lipstick and crossed to the white cabinet directly in front of him. "Let's just see how Mr. Powers likes being the hunted."

John surveyed the carnage, shaking with rage. How dare they violate the sanctity of his home? How dare they touch and destroy his things.

Didn't they understand who they were dealing with?

John picked his way through the wreckage of his living room. When he reached the kitchen, he stopped short. They had left him a message, scrawled in red across his virgin white cabinet fronts, like a wound.

We're going to get you, asshole.

John stared at the words, the blood spinning crazily in his head. His hands began to shake and his breath came in short, angry bursts. He flexed his fingers, any semblance of control and self-discipline gone. They would pay for this, he vowed. They would suffer.

If it was the last thing he did, he would make certain they died like pigs.

"Good morning," Kate said as Julianna appeared at the connecting door between their rooms. It was just after

8:00 a.m. The other woman had slept through the night- Kate knew this because, unable to sleep, she had checked on Julianna a half dozen times.

Julianna met Kate's eyes, then slid her own gaze uncomfortably away. "Morning."

Kate finished diapering Emma, resnapped her pajamas, then scooped her up. Julianna hadn't moved from her position in the doorway. "How are your hands?" she asked.

Julianna held them out; they looked awful, like they had gotten caught in a meat grinder. She tried to bend her fingers, wincing at the effort. "They hurt."

Emma propped on her hip, Kate crossed to the trash and dropped the used diaper in. The infant began to fuss and Kate shifted her from her hip to her shoulder. She motioned Julianna in from the doorway. "Come talk to me."

Her expression wary, she crossed to the double bed closest to her and sat on its corner. "Where's Luke?"

"He went for coffee and rolls." Emma cried out and squirmed in her arms, and Kate adjusted her hold again. "We're going to check out after we eat."

Julianna curved her arms across her middle. "He found us another place?"

"This morning. It's not going to be very nice, I'm afraid. Most places require a credit card to register, for security purposes. Problem is, Luke's registering us under an alias. He called around this morning."

The younger woman eyed Emma, a frown creasing her brow. "What's wrong with Emma? I never heard her make that sound before."

Kate glanced down at the child. She held her in a cradle hold, body tipped slightly toward her. She was, indeed, making a different sound, a cross between a whimper and a whine.

Kate frowned, unsettled by the fact that Julianna had noticed it and she hadn't. "She's a little fussy today. She didn't sleep well. Babies get like this."

Awkward silence stretched between them. Julianna broke it first. "I'm glad I gave her to you. And that I couldn't have the…you know."

The abortion. Kate shuddered at the thought of how close Emma had come to not being. "I'm glad, too. She's a very special little person."

Julianna reached up and trailed her fingers across Emma's downy head, then drew her hand back, eyes bright with tears. "I'm sorry I freaked out like that yesterday."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Julianna bowed her head. "I don't know why I…I never saw before. I must have known how…wrong…how sick…" She lifted her gaze to Kate's, her expression anguished. "I allowed it. I'm as much to blame as he is."

"That's not true." Kate crossed to her. "Listen to me. You were a child, he was an adult. He preyed on your innocence and trust. On your helplessness. What he did to you was a crime, Julianna."

"But why didn't I stop him?" She balled her hands into fists. "Why didn't I fight him or tell someone? And when I was older, why did I stay with him? I think about it and I want to curl up and die."

Julianna was silent a moment before continuing. "I knew," she said softly. "Deep down. That's why I-" Her throat closed over the words and she cleared it. "That's why I got pregnant. I wanted a normal relationship. The kind other women had."

A normal relationship. Like her and Richard's.

Even as a wisp of anger speared through her, Kate laid a hand on Julianna's shoulder, hurting for her, hating John Powers with a ferocity that stunned her. "A psychiatrist could help you deal with what John did to you. He could help you understand your feelings, why you did what you did. He would help you feel better."

She stood, struggling, Kate saw, to keep from falling apart. "I better go get cleaned up, Luke will be back any minute."

"Julianna, wait." Kate caught her wrist. "Promise you'll think about it, seeing a psychiatrist, I mean. When this is all over."

Julianna extricated herself from Kate's grip, a ghost of a smile touching her mouth. "All right, Kate. I promise."

Luke arrived back at the motel just as Julianna emerged from her room, her duffel bag packed and slung over her shoulder. Her hair was wet from the shower, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

Luke noticed, Kate was sure by his subtle double take at Julianna, but he didn't comment. "Macs was the best I could do in a hurry," he said, setting the McDonald's bag and beverage tray on the dresser. "I got sausage biscuits and fat-free muffins. Take your pick."

Kate propped Emma on her hip and reached for a coffee. The infant squealed in protest, and Kate made a sound of exasperation. "What is wrong with you today, Emma?"

"If you want to eat now, I'll hold her," Julianna offered. "I mean, if that's okay?"

Kate hesitated, but only a moment. She needed a break. She had been walking, jiggling and bouncing a fussy baby for hours and she'd had it. "Okay," she said. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Kate handed her over with only a twinge of misgiving. The fear that Julianna was going to run off with Emma had all but evaporated. In truth, as Julianna took Emma awkwardly into her arms, she looked more nervous than Kate.

New arms momentarily distracted the infant and with a sigh of relief, Kate helped herself to a coffee and a biscuit.

"I called the P.I. while I was out," Luke said, folding back the plastic tab on his coffee's lid. "From a pay phone. He found both addresses and travel records for Wendell White and David Snow. The addresses were useless, mail drops and answering services. But the travel records could prove to be a gold mine."

Luke took a sip of his coffee, then smiled. "White and Snow visited some pretty exotic locales in the past couple of years. Colombia. Mexico. Israel. The U.K. I asked my guy to do a search on Nick Winters as well as to continue with the other names."