Brenda Novak - The Perfect Murder

“You have to admit it’d be perfect for someone who enjoys his privacy,” Jane said.

Sebastian glowered at what he saw. “Or needed that privacy to commit unconscionable acts.”

“There’s that.” David was eating his burger as if he hadn’t seen a meal in a while-or didn’t have the time to eat this one.

“Did you find his gun?” Sebastian asked.

“No,” David replied between mouthfuls. “We haven’t come across any weapons at all, unless you count kitchen knives.”

It would’ve been good if he’d left his gun behind so they could match it with the ballistics on the bullet from Latisha’s arm, but Malcolm wasn’t that stupid. “What about his police uniform, his badge?”

“That’s gone, too.”

Of course Malcolm would take those things with him. They were the symbols of his power, the accoutrements of his fantasy.

“Any idea where he might’ve gone?” Jane asked.

“He could be staying with a friend or at a motel,” David mused.

“That means he could be anywhere,” Sebastian said.

“We found something that tells us he probably hasn’t left the area.”

David swallowed his last bite and smashed the sack. “Just a minute.”

Jane sent Sebastian a curious glance. “What do you suppose it is?”

“You got me,” he said.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long for the answer. David came back a couple of minutes later, wearing surgical gloves and holding a piece of paper. “I can’t let you touch it, but you can see it,” he told them and turned it so they could read what had been written with a black felt-tip marker.

I’m coming for you, Sebastian, it said. Don’t think I won’t.

Visions of Noah lying dead in the bed she’d shared with Oliver floated to Jane’s consciousness as Sebastian drove them back to town. Would she someday find Sebastian in his own blood?

The thought made her stomach churn with acid. How could she protect him? How could she make sure nothing like that ever happened?

“You need to go home,” she blurted.

He steered with one arm slung over the wheel. “You mean New York?”

“Yes.”

“Malcolm won’t hurt me, Jane.”

“You don’t know that. Noah was bigger and stronger than Oliver. And you should’ve seen what Oliver did to him…” Closing her eyes, she tried to wipe the revolting scene from her mind. “I’m sure he never dreamed Oliver could overpower him. He thought I was crazy for even telling him to be careful.”

“This is different.” Although he was arguing with her, his tone indicated that he understood what she was feeling. “Malcolm isn’t my brother so I’m not about to give him the benefit of the doubt. And I’m well aware that he’s dangerous. No one has to convince me of that.”

“He followed you from Mary’s. He knows where the condo is.”

“It’s in your name.”

“He could connect us.”

“How?”

There wasn’t anyone who knew her who also knew Malcolm, but she didn’t like taking chances. Not with Sebastian’s life. I’m coming for you…Those words were so ominous, so…purposeful. “He could be watching my condo. Maybe he’s already seen us come home. Even if he hasn’t, why couldn’t he knock on a neighbor’s door and ask a few questions? What if he stumbles on Bob walking his dog, for instance? Bob knows your name, knows you’ve been staying at my place.”

Sebastian let his breath go in a long sigh, but didn’t speak. Was she getting through to him? Unable to tell, she reached for his arm. “What do you say?”

“I can’t leave you there alone, just in case he has associated the two of us.” Lines appeared on his forehead. “But if he hasn’t made the connection, I don’t want to draw him to your place, either. I’m not sure what to do.”

“Will you let me decide?”

“No. You’d put me on the first plane back east.”

She said nothing.

“That’s not the answer, Jane. This thing between Malcolm and me-it has to end sometime.”

“It’s the way it might end that bothers me.” She’d lost enough. She couldn’t stand losing the one man who made her feel hopeful again. There were moments when she thought about having another baby, and those moments made her think that maybe it wasn’t too late to start over, to offer Kate more than she’d had, to build a better life, one less traumatized by the past.

“You trust David, don’t you?” he said.

She scowled. He was changing tactics on her. “Of course I trust David. He’s an excellent detective. But that’s beside the point.”

“Jane, if Malcolm really wants to kill me, running away won’t solve the problem.” He pulled into a drugstore.

“What are we doing?” she asked as he parked. “Why are we stopping here?”

“We need to buy something.”

“Gum? Film? Shaving cream?”

He opened his door and got out. “A pregnancy test.”

Jane’s hand froze on the latch. She wasn’t ready to discover whether or not they had other big decisions to make. It felt as if she still had the option of sending Sebastian away, of going on with her life as though this week had never occurred. But if she took a pregnancy test and that pregnancy test was positive…what would they do? How would they handle it? “I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

“You can wait here if you’d like.”

“Sebastian-”

“I’ll be right back.”

She remained in the car, trying to imagine how she’d feel if she turned out to be pregnant. That was easy. She’d be scared. She was in her mid-forties. There were significant risks. And she’d never expected to have another child. But what if the test was negative?

Part of her would be disappointed; she couldn’t deny that.

He held a small brown paper bag when he returned. He tossed it between them as he got in, and Jane eyed it as if it contained a snake. “Sebastian-”

“If you’re not pregnant, we’ll start using birth control,” he said. “If you are, there’ll be no need.”

“You won’t accept my advice and head back to New York no matter what it says. Why should I take it?” she countered.

“So I’ll know whether to stop at my motel and get those condoms before I drive you home. It’ll save you from having to deal with that Shield.” Starting the car, he backed out of the parking space. “If we’re going to deliver on our promise to take Kate ice-skating, we don’t have much time.”

He was worried about following through on a promise to her daughter? That was something she hadn’t experienced in years-a pleasant something. “We just…we won’t do it again,” she said. “If we stay away from each other, we won’t need birth control. And we won’t need to know whether or not I’m pregnant. Not right away.”

He gave her a look that told her he wasn’t about to let her out of this. “I don’t think staying away from each other is very realistic, do you?”

She rubbed her face. “Probably not,” she sighed.

He drove across the street to the gas station. “There’s the bathroom,” he said and handed her the bag.

Butterflies swirled in Sebastian’s stomach for the first time since he could remember. Was it really possible that in nine months he’d become a father again? So much had changed. He’d lost Emily and Colton and Constance and all the momentum he’d achieved with his work. He no longer had the money he once did. He couldn’t believe he was even thinking about having another child, let alone pacing outside a gas-station restroom in California while the woman he’d been sleeping with took a pregnancy test.

“Jane?” he called when he couldn’t wait anymore.

She didn’t answer, so he tapped on the door. “Hey! What does it say?”