Dana Mentink - Endless Night

She’d gotten to see enough in the first shocked moment when she figured out who he was. Dark hair, longish, falling into his face. A shadow of stubble on his strong chin, dimples when he’d smiled and the eyes, the familiar hazel eyes, self-assured, confident, cocky. He was the same Roman.

She could hear her father’s angry voice in her mind. He killed your brother. I will never forgive him. Never!

She forced herself to take a breath. She had more important matters to worry about than Roman Carter. After he dropped her at the lodge she would put him out of her mind and push him back into the past where he belonged….

lives in California with her family. Dana and her husband met doing a dinner theater production of The Velveteen Rabbit. In college, she competed in national speech and debate tournaments. Besides writing novels, Dana taste-tests for the National Food Lab and freelances for a local newspaper. In addition to her work with Steeple Hill Books, she writes cozy mysteries for Barbour Books. Dana loves feedback from her readers. Contact her at www.danamentink.com.

Come now, and let us reason together,

says the Lord,

Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.

—Isaiah 1:18

To my big sis, who has been there through all those

dark nights that seemed endless.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

She pressed down the fear. It was all a mistake, a terrible dream from which she’d awaken any moment. The crowded terminal of San Francisco International Airport was filled with people, talking on cell phones and checking flight information. In spite of the crowd, Jackie felt utterly alone as she stood in a corner near the busy ticket counters. Her phone rang. She jumped and clutched at it. “Hello?”

“Did you get a flight out?”

“Asia?” She hardly recognized her friend’s voice. “I’m at the airport now but I’ve changed my mind. This is nuts. We can’t run away. If Dr. Reynolds is guilty, we’ve got to stand our ground and prove it.”

“Are you crazy?” Asia hissed. “You know Mick got jumped on his way over here after he called his friend in the police department. Reynolds has paid them off.”

Jackie pressed the phone tightly to her ear. “There’s got to be a mistake.”

Asia’s voice rose an octave. “Dr. Reynolds doesn’t have the clout to buy off the police on his own. He’s selling his patients’ information to a crime ring. The errors are too widespread to be the work of one person. I should have seen it before.”

Jackie tried to control her own panic. “We’ve both got to calm down. Where are you? Did you get Mick to a hospital?”

“I’m waiting for him at the clinic now. He’s in a lot of pain. As soon as he can travel, we’re gone.” There was a sound of voices in the background. Asia spoke in a whisper. “You’ve got to get out of there, Jackie. Dr. Reynolds has men looking for us. They’re trying to keep us quiet any way they can.”

Jackie jerked around, scanning the crowd, and scooted into a farther corner.

Asia had been poring over the computer accounts in the darkened office, hours after closing time, downloading information to a thumb drive. Asia’s boyfriend Mick who worked on the imaging equipment was there too, sipping coffee. Asia had just begun to explain why she’d summoned Jackie at such a late hour when Dr. Reynolds appeared, briefcase in hand. His wide forehead creased in suspicion.

“What are you three doing here? What are you downloading?”

Asia stood, facing him. “Dr. Reynolds, there are payments coming in for treatments we never provided. Addresses and personal information for our patients have been altered too.”

The doctor’s face purpled. “I’ve been watching you poking around, sticking your nose into things. What exactly are you saying?”

Mick stepped forward. “That you’re guilty of fraudulent billing.”

“It’s more than that,” Asia said, a tremor in her voice. “It’s too widespread. You’re working for somebody who does this on a large scale. ”

Jackie watched in horror as Dr. Reynolds’s face twisted in rage. “How dare you.” Spittle flew from his mouth. “I’ll ruin you. All of you.” He spun around and ran from the room towards the back office.

At Asia’s urging, Jackie had snatched the thumb drive and crammed it in her pocket before Mick dragged both of the shocked women to the parking lot. “Go. Now. He keeps a gun in his office, I’ve seen it.”

They raced to Jackie’s car.

Mick kissed Asia. “Go to the coffee shop. Wait for my call.”

Asia’s eyes filled. “Where are you going?”

“I have a friend at the S.F. P.D. I’m going to contact him. I’ll meet you. It will be okay.”

But it wasn’t. He’d returned bloodied and battered.

“I was jumped. They wore masks but I recognized one. He’s a cop. Reynolds must have bought them off.”

Asia had taken Mick to the nearest clinic, promising to meet Jackie at the airport.

“Listen, I’ve been keeping detailed notes on all the inconsistencies I’ve found.” Asia started to talk faster. “I contacted someone who used to work for Dr. Reynolds at his office in Thousand Oaks. She’s looking too. You’ve got to give me and Mick some time. We’ll call you as soon as we can. Just get away somewhere, anywhere.” The phone disconnected.

Jackie’s breath seemed to form hard crystals in her lungs. Mick beaten? Dirty cops? Crime rings? The whole thing was absurd. She quickly dialed her friend Patti’s cell number.

“Hey, Jackie. You’re out of milk. I came to borrow some before rehearsal. I should have taken up a smaller instrument. I work up an awful thirst dragging that cello up five flights.”

“Patti, listen. I’ve got to go out of town. Can you take care of the place?”

“Sure, where you going?”

“Just a quick getaway.”

“Sounds great. You know I’m kinda miffed. You never mentioned your darling boyfriend.”

She felt a stir of alarm. “That’s because I don’t have one.”

“Care to explain the good-looking cop who stopped by? He was in plainclothes, of course, but he showed me a badge.”

Jackie froze, unable to speak.

Patti continued. “Handsome fella. How can you resist an ex-Navy man? Just the thought of dating a sailor gives me a charge.”

“I don’t….”

“He told me that you decided to break things off because of his dangerous job and all that. He wanted to come patch things up. He wondered if you’d left town, maybe gone to Maryland.”

“Maryland?” The lights flickered before her eyes. He knows I have family in Maryland? Jackie forced a cheerful tone. “He sure has put a lot of thought into it, hasn’t he?”

“I guess so. Anyway, I gotta go.”