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“That must have sucked for you,” Jane said with genuine sympathy. ,
“You have no idea the burden I’ve carried. The weight of it.” Agony etched the older woman’s features. “Tom set up new protocols to make sure I complied. If he fails to sign in to his laptop once a day, our private moments will automatically be emailed to my children and released onto the Headliner. I won’t allow my mistakes to become public fodder. Nor will Tiffany.” She drew in a sharp breath. Her expression hardened. “We have less than two hours until his next check in. That is why we’re forcing your boyfriend to let Tom go. Call him and tell him you’ll die if he doesn’t.”
Jane gaped at her. “Conrad could go to jail for something like that.” As soon as she spoke, realization dawned. This was the curse in action. The knockout punch meant to forever remove the lawman from her orbit.
“That is a Conrad problem,” Jessica quipped. “Call him.”
“No,” Jane grated. “No doubt you’ll shoot me the moment the call ends. Besides, Conrad is merely a consultant on the case. He can’t break a prisoner out of jail with only two hours’ notice. He needs a full business day.”
Tiffany snapped her fingers. “While Conrad’s working, we should make Beau hunt for the footage. He’s a computer wizard, and he’ll do anything to save Jane. If anyone can find and delete old videos, it’s him.”
Hope sparked in Jessica’s eyes but quickly died. “What if he doesn’t delete it? What if he uses it the same way Tom does? A likely scenario, considering I’m holding a gun on one of his closest friends. No. We can’t let anyone else access the footage. Jane, you’ll call your boyfriend as ordered and tell him to facilitate Tom’s release, either officially or unofficially, I don’t care which. He may be a consultant, but he runs in and out of Aurelian Hills’s police station like it’s a drive-thru.”
“She isn’t wrong, you know,” Tiffany said.
Jessica’s face softened, as if she saw the end of the tunnel and only needed to sweeten the deal. “If Mr. Ryan does this, I’ll ensure he becomes sheriff. I can do it. Then we can all get something we want and return to our normal lives like nothing happened.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “But understand this. If those videos get released, I’ll kill your boyfriend and your cat and make you watch. Do you understand? Believe me, I’m not afraid to use this gun. I’ve done it before.”
And that’s when Jane knew Mrs. Thacker had been at Mr. Garfield’s house with Tom. She shot Conrad. Had she also dressed as Tom to frame him?
Now it was Jane’s turn to narrow her eyes. No doubt her expression conveyed only steely malice. The other woman’s plan was decent, but it had a devastatingly fatal flaw–threatening Conrad and Rolex.
This. Woman. Must. Pay.
“You were with Tom at Mr. Garfield’s. But you are who shot Conrad.” Though her knees knocked, Jane raised her chin. “I won’t do anything you ask.”
Tiffany nodded her head with gusto and mouthed, “Trust me. Do it.”
Jane frowned. Trust the traitor who was no doubt attempting to fool her again? No. Never! Except, Rolex did love her. And there was no living being more perceptive than Rolex the Grasshopper Slayer. So, maybe Jane should perhaps trust the widow?
Tiff had been so happy about her planned breakfast with the first lady. If Jessica had shown up and threatened Tiffany and/or Rolex, the widow would’ve agreed with anything to keep herself and the world’s greatest treasure safe. So. Trust her? Yes. Jane was ready to take that step.
Jessica put both hands on the gun to steady her aim, desperation filling her dark eyes. “I meant what I said. If he comes through, we will all walk away with what we want. Nobody gets hurt, and we continue on with our lives like nothing happened. Now, enough stalling. Call him.”
Oh, how mistaken the woman was. Neither Jane nor Conrad would rest until justice was served.
“All right, fine,” Jane said. “I’ll do it.” She peered down at the phone and spied a text from June and Fiona on the screen.
Juniverse: I’m coming to visit you next month. See you soon!
What the—
Fionality: Something weird is going on. Raymond received a message from Conrad and flew out of my house!
Uh. Did they know about Jessica? Had Tiff, maybe, warned them?
“Go on,” Jessica snapped. “Dial. And put it on speaker.”
Reeling, Jane keyed up Conrad’s number. The ensuing ring broke through the veil of silence cloaking the bedroom.
“Hello, pancake,” he answered, sounding winded. Was he running?
Her chest tightened. “Hello, Inspector Detective Special Agent Ryan. I, um, need to speak with you.” Her gaze darted to Jessica, who nodded. “It’s important. Life and death, really.”
“Before you say anything,” Conrad interjected, “I need you to listen to me, okay? On my signal, hit the floor.”
