Brenda Novak - The Perfect Murder

“No, you look better.” She lowered her voice. “You must have your groove back.”

“Hi, everyone.” Ava peered into the conference room before Jane could respond. “Where’s Sheridan?”

“She’s not here yet,” Jane told her.

“Darn. I can’t wait to see the baby.” She turned to speak to the volunteers who’d once again come out to the reception area to say hello, then did a double-take when she focused on Jane again. “Wow, you look great!”

Exasperated, Jane rolled her eyes. “That’s crazy. I don’t know what you guys are talking about.”

Skye leaned close to Ava so the volunteers, who were already returning to work, wouldn’t hear. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s got her groove back.”

“That has to be it,” Ava agreed as she took the chair next to Skye. “I heard about your new man.”

They peppered her with questions until Sheridan arrived, and after that, the baby drew all the attention. Relieved to be out of the spotlight, Jane sat through the meeting, listening but adding little. She didn’t tell them about her case, didn’t mention wanting to take on more. She was reluctant to do anything that would make the meeting last longer. They’d be in tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that-there’d be plenty of time to discuss everything that had gone on during their absences.

Although she loved seeing them all, she was glad when they left. One volunteer remained behind, a high-school boy named Rick who was trying to finish up the mailer, but he wasn’t planning on staying much longer. Neither was she. She had just one more meeting; her domestic-abuse victim would be in shortly.

Then she could go home to Kate and Sebastian.

Sebastian had come to California to catch a killer-and found a second family. As he sat at the pizza parlor with Kate, listening to her talk about her day and her friends and how badly she wanted a dog, he could hardly believe that so much had changed, and so fast! For the past twelve months, he’d been consumed with the thirst for revenge. In fact, he’d feared that if he ever found Malcolm, he’d become a killer himself. He’d almost welcomed it.

But he didn’t feel like that anymore. He’d do the right thing because that was the only way he could protect Jane and Kate from suffering more than they already had. If he didn’t, he couldn’t be part of their lives.

“Leonard asked me to go out with him today,” Kate said, acting shocked that this boy could have so much audacity.

Sebastian hid a smile. He could see himself back in seventh grade, thinking Kate was cute, maybe even working up the nerve to see if she might like him. He’d never been particularly shy. “Where did he want you to go?” he asked, taking the question literally on purpose.

She shook her head. “No, that just means…you know, that we’d be together.”

He nodded. “Right. You’d go out together. But where?”

“Stop it!” she giggled. “You know, he’d be my boyfriend.”

“Oh! I see. So he won’t be borrowing his folks’ car and taking you to the movies or anything.”

“No, silly.”

“That’s good, because he has to be at least thirteen before I’d ever let you ride with him.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized how fatherly they sounded, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Thirteen?” she echoed.

“And only if he can grow a mustache by then.”

She continued to laugh. “Boys can’t grow a mustache at thirteen.”

“Then you’d better tell him no.”

“Really? You want me to say no?” She nibbled the crust of her second piece of pizza.

It was hard for him to imagine that any boy could be worthy of her, but he figured he was being overprotective again. “That’d be my initial reaction. But I don’t know him,” he said. “What do you think?”

“He’s kinda cute.”

“Okay. I guess you could say yes-” Sebastian pushed his plate away “-if he’s willing to speak to me about his intentions.”

She giggled again. “You’re funny.”

He sobered as she pushed her plate away, too. “And you’re going to have a whole string of boys who’ll want to go out with you. Unless you really want to say yes, I say, what’s the rush?”

“There is another boy I’d rather go out with.”

“Then give him a chance, okay?” He slid from the booth. “You ready to go?”

“I’m ready.” She took a final sip of her soda.

“That stuff’ll kill ya, you know.”

“I know, I know. My mom tells me that all the time,” she grumbled and started out ahead of him.

Sebastian caught a glimpse of himself in the glass as they walked toward the exit. Damn, he’d let his hair get long. “Hey, you don’t know where I could get my hair trimmed while we wait for your mom, do you?”

She paused at the door. “Mom’s a haircutter. She can do it. She does my hair.”

“And it looks nice, but-” he checked his watch “-it’s only six. She said her appointment would take about half an hour. In the meantime, I thought I might as well get cleaned up.” He winked. “I want her to think I’m handsome, you know.”

The blush that tinged Kate’s cheeks nearly made Sebastian burst out laughing. Kate’s personality was entirely different from Colton’s, but she possessed the same innocent charm. “I bet she already thinks you’re handsome,” she confided.

He held the door for her. “So…will she say yes if I ask her to go out with me?”

Her head pumped energetically. “I think so.”

“What about you? Would you mind if we…you know…got together?”

She stopped walking and gazed up at him. “Do you like me, too?”

Her lack of artifice brought a lump to his throat. That was all she asked of him? He could certainly give her that. “Oh, I like you, all right,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure I’m falling for you and your mom.”

With an expression that showed her pleasure at his response, she slipped her hand in his, and Sebastian smiled as he opened the car door. Not only had he found a second family, he could feel something besides anger.

He was pretty sure it was hope.

Jane didn’t know how long to wait. It was six-thirty and her appointment hadn’t shown.

She checked the Web site e-mail account as well as her personal account, which was the one she’d used to send her reply. Other than a brief confirmation of the appointment, sent late last night, she’d received no further communication.

Maybe the woman’s husband had returned from his trip early, or something else had interrupted her. Or was the poor thing just too scared? Jane didn’t want to leave if her victim was battling traffic, still planning to come. But she also didn’t have any way to confirm that and didn’t want to waste any more time if she wasn’t coming.

“I’ll give you fifteen more minutes,” she said aloud and gathered up the items she needed to put in her briefcase.

“You talking to me?” Rick tapped the inside wall of her office as he looked in through her door.

“No, I’m grumbling to myself,” she said. “My last appointment’s late.”

“I saw someone pull in about ten minutes ago and circle the lot, but it was a guy.”

“I’m definitely waiting for a woman.”

“Okay, well, I’m out of here, and I’m taking the mailers with me. I know we’ve missed the post office for today, but I’ll ask my mom to take them over while I’m in school tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

“That’s fine, as long as she doesn’t mind.”

“She won’t. She’s been talking about coming down here to volunteer herself. She thinks more people should get involved.”

“We’d be glad to have her.” Jane moved around the desk. “Let me at least help you get the boxes into your car.”