The sound of police sirens reached her ears. She turned to Jarek. “We should open the door for them.”
“You take the far side.” Jarek moved toward the edge of the door that was closer to them. “When you’re in position, I’ll lift it. Stay alert, though. We need to be prepared for anything.”
“Understood.” Without wasting a moment, she hurried to the other side of the garage door. Clasping her weapon in two hands, the barrel trained on the door, she waited as Jarek bent and threw the garage door up and out of the way.
She scanned the area outside the warehouse. There was no sign of Lupo or of Jeff Schnor. Still, she didn’t relax until the red and blue swirling lights grew closer, the sirens still wailing loud enough to break eardrums.
The danger was finally over. Buck and Ray wouldn’t hurt anyone again.
The only outstanding issue was what Jarek would do now that he knew the truth about what she’d done. Maybe she hadn’t intended to kill Eddie Ross, but she hadn’t shed a tear over his passing either.
Her mother had always suspected Di had put the sleeping pills in Eddie’s drink, but she hadn’t said anything to the police. Deep down, she figured her mother didn’t want the truth about the sexual abuse to come out because everyone would know just how badly she’d failed to protect her own daughters.
But her mother had also lamented Eddie’s death, going on and on about the loss of income. The comments had grated on Di’s nerves to the point she couldn’t take listening to her mother for another second. Especially when her mother hadn’t even bothered to say happy birthday much less buy a present or even a cupcake.
That’s when she’d grabbed a bag and left home to live on the streets.
The first few weeks had been difficult. More than once she’d almost given in and crawled back home. She’d attended school, managing to graduate despite her living situation. Michelle had smuggled her food and money, which had helped. And it hadn’t taken too long for Di to grow accustomed to living on her own. Just looking at her mother had made her so angry. How her mother could have allowed Eddie to sneak into her bedroom at night, she had no idea.
“Di? Are you okay?” Jarek’s voice penetrated her thoughts.
The red and blue flashing lights were blinding now. She had to squelch the urge to run. To hide. To move out of Newburgh to start over someplace new. But she didn’t move. “I’m fine.” Her clipped tone didn’t fool him.
“We need to talk. I hate knowing what you and your sister must have gone through all those years ago.” He took a step toward her, then stopped when the police cruisers pulled up. “We’ll talk,” he said again. “Don’t worry about anything.”
She frowned, uncertain about what he meant by that. Was he going to hold off on arresting her? Maybe. Yet even with the prospect of landing behind bars, a strange relief washed over her. The truth was out. The burden she’d carried for more than half her lifetime had been lifted.
She felt lighter. Oddly free. Which made no sense since she knew full well that she’d likely spend the rest of her life behind bars. Her claustrophobia kicked in as she imagined the prison bars slamming shut, locking her inside.
“Throw down your weapon!” a voice barked.
Di belatedly realized the order was addressed to her. She slowly bent, dropped the gun, raised her hands, and stepped into the light. Shying away from the red and blue flashing lights, she looked up at the moon and the stars. While she’d held the crowbar waiting for the opportunity to use it against Bond, she’d prayed for help.
And God had answered. Maybe she should try praying again, this time for mercy. She could accept that her actions deserved some sort of punishment, but just the thought of spending a prolonged stint behind bars made her break out in a cold sweat.
She held her tongue as Jarek took charge of the scene. He walked through the entire sequence of events, including Ray Bond’s admission of guilt. The officers had requested an ambulance for Ray, who was still unconscious.
“The dispatcher heard part of the conversation,” Officer Wynn said when Jarek finished his statement. “Probably a good thing or it would be your word against his.”
“Jarek’s word is all that matters.” Snapping out of her funk, she stepped forward. “We kept getting found because of Ray Bond. He tracked our phones. I’m sure if you do a deep dive into his financials, you’ll discover he has a significant amount of cash coming in over and above his salary. He admitted he’d joined forces with Buck Ross solely because he was greedy.”
“Di’s right. Bond had no intention of letting us live.” Jarek slipped his arm around her waist, hugging her. She was so surprised by the gesture that she didn’t pull away. “If not for Di’s quick actions in taking him down, we’d both be dead.”
“Hey, someone needs to take care of this dog,” an officer called. “He’s injured and looks like he could eat me for breakfast.”
“Rocco won’t bite unless Buck tells him to.” At least, she didn’t think so. She turned to meet her stepbrother’s malevolent gaze. “Still, I don’t recommend removing the gag around Buck’s mouth. Not until Rocco has been secured.”
From there, things happened quickly. Animal control was called to muzzle Rocco and to take him to the emergency vet. When Rocco was gone, the officer removed Buck’s gag. Di braced herself, fully expecting her stepbrother to mention how she’d murdered his father.
Instead, he took his right to remain silent seriously.
She slipped outside and filled her lungs with fresh air. Then she turned and walked away, leaving Jarek and the officers milling about the scene behind. Her temporary partnership with Jarek was over.
If not for the late hour, well past midnight, she’d have called her sister, Michelle. But she wouldn’t wake her sister, Will, and the kids.
A keen sense of loneliness washed over her, but she kept walking. Her apartment wasn’t that far, and she had a key hidden nearby.
No doubt Jarek would return to arrest her the following morning. Until then, she’d sleep with her window open and pray to a God she barely knew for mercy.
