Читать книгу Castle's Fortress - Rhonda Lee Carver - Страница 7

Chapter 4

Later, in the cafe, Fall sipped her cafe-mocha while waiting for Jake and wondered what she’d expected. After all this time, Jake seemed cold, perhaps indifferent. Twenty years was a long time to show up unannounced. It wasn’t as though they’d kept in touch or taken the time to drop a line now and again. They’d severed ties as kids.

She’d driven to New York mostly out of impulse. On the long, quiet trip, she’d almost convinced herself twice to turn around and forget the ludicrous thought of seeing Jake. Determination had kept her straight on her path and brought her to him with her mind set. She would never forgive herself if she went back home without talking to him first.

She glanced at the polished metal clock above the door. Anticipation made her stomach roll and her palms moist. She slid her hands down her slacks, and looked up in time to see Jake step from the elevator. He crossed the lobby, tugging at his neckline with a bothered expression.

So, this was Jake Castle all grown up.

She watched him approach and several descriptions came to mind. Handsome. Sophisticated. Powerful. Dedicated.

She’d seen his father once, when he’d come to pick Jake up to take him away with him to live in Chicago. Senior Castle had reminded her of a movie star. He’d climbed out of his red convertible and the mid-afternoon sun had glinted off his coal black hair. He’d looked elegant and debonair in his pinstriped suit and pricey shoes. The scent of money lingered in the air long after he and Jake had pulled out of the driveway.

Jake resembled his father, at least what she could remember. Her distorted memories were those of a young girl who’d thought everything outside her own drab existence rated extraordinary.

Jake stood well over six feet and had the broad shoulders of a linebacker. He moved with confidence and purpose, paying no interest to those around him. Several women turned to get a longer look at him as he passed. Fall saw the appreciation in their eyes and their flushed cheeks, and her heartbeat quickened. She wondered if that strange feeling in her chest was jealousy.

A part of her was curious if the boy she’d had a crush on still existed somewhere underneath the expensive suit and alpha male bearing. Probably not. It saddened her to think her sweet, mischievous friend no longer remained–not even a little bit.

As if he read her thoughts, his eyes came up and fixed on her. His attention heated her skin across the short distance. She could get lost if she stared too long.

Reality pulled her back. Fall blinked and averted her gaze.

“I got out of the office by the skin of my teeth.” He pulled out the metal chair across from her and sat. He dug inside his pocket for his cell and turned it off. “They can do without me for awhile.”

At least he cared enough to give her some time beyond business. The thought brightened her mood...some. Fall slid the tip of her tongue along the curve of her bottom lip. She noticed his gaze lower to her mouth, watching her movement, and her core muscles quivered.

No man had ever had the capability to turn her to goo with a mere look. Jake had always been different. As kids, he’d always accepted her when all the other kids made fun of her. He’d felt sorry for her and at the time, she hadn’t minded.

“Care for another?” He nodded at her empty mug as he waved to the server, holding up two fingers until the waitress waved in acknowledgement.

Fall took Jake’s hurried glance at his watch as her cue to get the ball rolling. Talking about why she came was harder than she’d thought. She placed her hands in her lap to hide the tremor. “It must be a shock to see me, Jake. It’s been a long time, but you and I, well, we–”

“Here you go, Mr. Castle.”

Fall glanced up at the pretty blonde who had innocently interrupted her chain of words as she set the coffee down. Maybe they should have met somewhere private. Fall was losing her nerve by the minute.

“One straight black and mocha for the Miss. Can I get you anything else? We just pulled the blueberry muffins out of the oven.” The twenty-something woman made no effort to hide her attraction to Jake. Grinning from ear to ear, she showed off her pearly whites against bronzed skin, while subtly thrusting her size C’s forward. The woman certainly knew how to use her womanly attributes.

Fall resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably in the chair, feeling like a third wheel.

“No thanks, Angela. We’re good for now.”

First name basis? Were they friends? Fall wished she didn’t have a pinch in her gut. Jake didn’t show any sign in his expression that he knew the waitress intimately, but Fall didn’t doubt he could pull off a good poker face when needed.

It was none of her business, though. She pulled her thoughts back on track. At least the disruption gave her enough time to remind herself this was the world Jake lived in. He moved in circles she had no knowledge of and never would–a world so unlike her own back in Marietta. From what she’d heard through the rumor mill, Jake didn’t attach himself to just one woman. So maybe what she’d told Ms. Holbrew earlier wasn’t far from the truth. A man of his caliber probably did have women lined up.

“You were saying?”

Clearing her throat, she knew she just needed to spit it out. “I need your help, Jake.”

He leaned forward in his chair. One corner of his mouth lazily fell and his eyes tapered at the corners. “My help? Do you need money? You said your sister is missing. I could hire a PI to look into the case. I have a guy that is trustworthy and capable. I could make a call.” He started to reach for his phone.

“No, Jake.” She should have expected him to assume this had something to do with money. Capital was of no consequence to Jake, made obvious by the fancy suit and watch. A part of her cringed that he’d supposed she’d come for financial gain. “It’s not that simple.”

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she paced her breathing. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst. “Renee has been missing for a month now. She’d been working the night shift as a bartender at Max’s. She closed up one evening and walked out to the parking lot with a friend, Jonelle, who also works there. Jo didn’t see anything unusual.” She’d repeated the words so many times over the last few weeks in search for Renee that now they fell from her lips like a part in a play. “When Renee didn’t show up for her next shift, the owner called me. Her car was in the lot, but she wasn’t around. No one has seen her since.”

“How does this relate to me, Fall? Or Crystal?” He glanced at his watch again.

She wondered if it was a habit to check his watch when he wished to move on. He definitely rushed her, whether he meant to or not. It unsettled her. And it angered her.

“Renee disappeared in the middle of the night, just like Crystal. There one minute, gone the next. No witnesses. No evidence. Simply vanished.” She brought her fingers to her mouth, hoping to hide the trembling of her lips.

“Crystal’s been gone for twenty-three years,” Jake said. “They found her murderer–” Her long, ragged sigh stopped his words. “It’s true, Fall. Her killer is behind bars.”

Tossing her head in frustration, she searched his expression. How could he say the words without any sign of emotion? “You don’t believe that, do you?”

“They found the evidence. You saw it yourself.”

“I saw an image through an aperture of time.” A lump developed in her throat. She swallowed, but it remained. She sipped at the coffee, hoping it would help.

His thick brows knitted into a V. “I was there, Fall. Something possessed your body that night at the abandoned house.” His hand raked into his hair. He glanced around the room and lowered his voice. “When you awoke in the hospital you gave the police an account of what happened to my sister the night she died and where they would find her buried. You also told them about the cross necklace.”

“My father wasn’t the only one who owned a cross and gold chain, Jake. Count how many people in a day you could find wearing a similar necklace. It isn’t that odd.”

“They believed your father must have divulged his guilt to you and that’s how you knew so much. And his DNA? What logical explanation is there? They found traces of his genetic material on her body, underneath her fingernails.” He sat back in the chair, frustration evident in the dark depths of his eyes and the thin line of his lips.

Fall didn’t back off. He needed to hear what she had to say. “The sheriff’s department did very little in investigating the case. They should have called in the State Police, who were better equipped to handle a case of its severity.” Old emotions were unleashed inside her as she spoke of the past. “They convicted Charlie before he went to trial. When he went to prison for life, the whole town breathed a sigh of relief. They’d wanted closure to Crystal’s murder so they could return to their serene lives.”

“Do you blame them? Murders don’t happen in Marietta,” he snapped.

“They never thought much of my parents anyway.” She wrapped her hands around the mug, soaking up the warmth. “You can’t deny there were missing pieces to the puzzle surrounding Crystal’s death.”

“I can see that you’d want to defend your father, Fall.”

Sympathy filled his eyes and it turned her stomach. The last thing she wanted was Jake Castle’s pity. “The evidence was stacked against Charlie with the results of DNA testing. I agree it was overwhelming. And I knew where the body was buried–” She looked past his shoulder, thinking back on the memory. “It was all the proof the townspeople and the court needed.”

He rubbed his temple. “DNA is hard to deny. Nobody would have believed a ghost told you where Crystal was buried. They thought you made up the story to make it easier to tell the truth. How else would you know that Crystal was in those woods unless Charlie somehow let it slip to you?”

She brought her gaze back to his face. He sounded like he didn’t believe her story either. Her shoulders slumped. “Charlie worked out of town during the time of Crystal’s kidnapping. He had left the night before she went missing. You remember, don’t you? He came back from his trip two days after the search ended.”

“But his boss said he hadn’t shown up at the construction site for work for three days.”

“Because he was laid out drunk in his motel room.”

“Or so he said.”

Fall pushed her cup away, her frustration building. “I believe him.” She knew her father had lost many jobs because of his love for the bottle.

Stroking the back of his neck, Jake shook his head and sighed. “Fall, it’s in the past. I don’t want to rehash the memories. I’m sorry about Renee. I am. However, her disappearance and Crystal’s murder are in no way related and over twenty years apart. I know you want to believe Charlie’s innocent, but you have to let your guilt go. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Anger surged through her like a heated branding. “Do you think it’s been easy living with the guilt, knowing I helped put my father behind bars? Don’t you think the people of Marietta see Charlie’s genes every time they look at me? My father going to prison destroyed Mom and shattered what little family I had.”

“Charlie Winters was a lousy father and a drunk.” His lip curled. “You were better off without him.”

His words cut through her and it took her a moment to gain her balance. “Maybe, but at least with him around we had heat in the house, milk and peanut butter in the kitchen, and hand-me-down sneakers.”

He clenched his hand into a tight fist as if he wanted to slam it down on the table. He looked at her and his eyes softened and the tightness in his jaw loosened. “I’m sorry, Fall.” He started to reach for her hand, then pulled back. “I know you believe people hold you responsible for your father’s sins. You have to remember how the townspeople rallied around you in support after he was put in prison. No one would have allowed you to go hungry.”

Her bitter laugh echoed, drawing attention from the size-C blonde who was clearing a table beside them. At this point, she didn’t care who listened in on their conversation. “They collected around me for pity’s sake. The poor little girl with the murderer for a father and a crazy mother. Sure, let me knock on their door and beg for bread. That would have certainly changed their opinion of me, wouldn’t it?”

“They wanted to help you. You were hurt...” His gaze fell to the neckline of her sweater.

Fall instinctively brought her hand up and covered her chest, although the sweater hid the deep, white scar. She didn’t want to talk about the disfigurement or her livelihood as a child. That wasn’t the reason why she’d come.

“Jake, I’ve been having dreams, or rather nightmares, since Renee went missing. The meaning is unclear.” She swept a tendril of hair behind her ear as she stared down into the murky liquid in her cup. “My visions, you know, they don’t always make sense. It’s more like a puzzle I must piece together. Sometimes it can take weeks, a month, maybe longer.”

“What’s this got to do with me?”

“I need you in Marietta.”

He started to laugh but it fizzled. “I must not be hearing you right. Why should I come back to Marietta?”

“Because when we’re together my visions are stronger, clearer. I want to use my ability to find Renee.”

Her gaze collided with his, and the world seemed to evaporate. The layers of years and distance separating them melted. Doubt seemed to peel away as the strong bond resurfaced. Her heart thumped against her rib cage as the hairs on the back of her neck lifted. It took her breath away.

“No, Fall.” His pupils dilated. “I can’t go back.” Jake’s tone fell soft, desperate. “I can’t...”

“Then I will face this battle alone.”

“It’s not your battle, Fall. Let the police handle it.”

“So, you do still read my mind.” Fall pushed back in the chair, upsetting his coffee; it spilled over the side. She was prepared to walk away without gaining his help. She’d known convincing Jake to come home would be a long shot, but still it pained her that she’d failed. “Now read this.”

Fall stood, tossed her hair back and headed out of the coffee shop. Jake’s terse laughter reached her ears through the lobby.

Yeah, he got her silent message loud and clear.

“Kiss my ass.”