Not This Time (41 page)

“Why couldn’t you pray?” Beth asked.

“I was lying to everyone I loved. How could I pray? But God loved me through it—”

“Grace.” A smile touched Peggy’s lips.

“Yes.” Sara sniffed. “But it appears I’m still chained to the monster.”

From his expression, that terrified Jeff too. “One hurdle at a time.”

“Right.” Sara drew in a shuddered breath. “So, how am I going to die?”

Jeff answered. “Darla is going to kill you, as ordered.”

Sara reached for Beth’s hand. “I want a lovely funeral. Tell Annie to handle it. Nora can’t, of course, because she’ll be dead with me. Shall I go to Three Gables too?”

“Absolutely,” Ben said. “It’s the only place Mark and his team can keep you two safe.”

“Thank you, Ben.” She looked back to Beth. “I’m sorry you’ll have to mourn.”

“Faked mourning, I can handle.” Beth would do it well. She had to, to not give away that Sara was alive.

Sara let the truth shine in her eyes. “I’ve spent too much time in my life shutting people out so I wouldn’t be hurt again. I want everyone there.”

“That’s probably not a good idea,” Jeff said. “NINA could try another attack.”

“After two failed attempts? Doubtful. But if they do, stop them, Jeff.” Sara smiled up at him, touched his cheek, and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Will you cry for me?”

“I will.” The tip of his pug nose turned red.

Beth sighed. “Oh, but I wish things could have been different …” She clasped a hand over her mouth. “Did I say that out loud?” Her face burned.

Everyone hid smiles. Beth cringed.

“Oh, forget it.” Peggy gave her chunky necklace a tug. “We all wish things were different.”

“They are what they are,” Jeff said. “But I’ll say this, so everyone’s clear. No matter how all this shakes out, Sara, I’ll always be here for you. You understand what I’m saying?”

He loved her. He wouldn’t give her the words; he didn’t have the right and she was in no position to accept them. But the truth was clear.

Sara teared up. “I understand.”

Beth looked at Joe and lost herself in her feelings for him. What a privilege it was to have them, and to be able to express them. Too tender, she went to the sink for a drink of water.

“What?” Joe stepped close, lifting her hair at her nape.

She spun to face him, felt his warm breath fan across her face. “I am totally crazy about you, Joseph.” There. She’d said and meant it.

“You’re not running anymore?”

“No.” She touched a hand to his chest.

“Why not?”

“What I saw in there …” She paused, then tried again. “Relationships are messy.”

“That isn’t exactly the response I was hoping for, Beth.”

“I’m not done yet.”

“Then please continue.”

She clasped his face in her hands. “There are worse things in relationships than fear of heartbreak.”

A lazy smile caressed his lips. “Still falling short, sha.”

“It’s a process, okay?”

He smiled, placed butterfly kisses to her eyelids. “You keep working on it, gorgeous. You’ll get there.”

She would. Not get there; she was there. It was admitting it that was hard.

“I don’t want choke marks on my neck.” Sara’s voice carried over to the fridge.

“Let’s go direct this death or they’ll be debating it till tomorrow.” Beth smiled.

Joe joined the others saying, “Break her neck, Darla.”

“Will that leave a mark?” Sara asked.

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

Mark, Ben, and Jeff all answered at once.

“That’ll work then.” Sara stood and squared her shoulders. “Break my neck, Darla.”

“This has to be the craziest conversation I’ve ever heard in my life—and with my whacked-out family, that’s saying something.” Joe shook his head.

“Get used to it.” Beth patted his back. “Odd is kind of normal around here.”

“Whoa, wait.” Jeff looked at Sara. “I want every detail planned. Then Darla can break your neck.” He scanned the group, then stopped on Beth. “You’ll find her body—and it goes without saying, no one outside this room is to be told anything about this. One slip could blow it all apart.”

Darla wrung her hands. “It could, and then Nora, Sara, and I really will be dead.”

“And Beth.” Jeff motioned to her. “Sara and Peggy are right. NINA wants it all.”

Beth’s knees wobbled. Fear set in. Darla said this was operation Dead Game. But it didn’t feel like much of a game. Beth had seen what NINA could do, what it had done.

It was real. NINA was lethal.

And all of them, Joe included, were already on its hit list.

At 11:00 p.m., Beth found Sara’s body and phoned police.

Jeff arrived, called in forensics, and by midnight, the first of the reporters arrived outside the gate.

By dawn, the street was full of them, and flowers had begun to appear along the fence.

Sara was stashed with Nora at Three Gables under heavy guard. Peggy and Annie were at Crossroads, planning Sara’s funeral. And Beth and Joe were at Sara’s, which was less vulnerable than Beth’s. Even NINA wouldn’t enter a crime scene swarming with FBI agents.

Beth didn’t have to fake upset; stress was thick with all who knew the truth, and the grief honest with those who didn’t.

Sara’s funeral was set for Tuesday, and when it finally arrived, Beth was emotionally drained. Robert still hadn’t surfaced. Margaret, Nick Pope from Legal, and Henry Baines were in a world of hurt over losing Sara. It’d taken all Beth could muster not to tell them the truth.

Joe stayed by Beth’s side, helping her through touchy times. Peggy was first to note that not one of Robert’s friends had been by to express condolences. Beth never liked them. They were Robert’s, not Sara’s, friends, but Sara being alone and lost in their circle crushed Beth. Didn’t they know how special Sara was?

Apparently not, and that hurt so deep Beth spontaneously broke into tears every time she thought of it. She prayed hard, but how God could get Sara from where she was to a place she’d be happy, Beth couldn’t imagine. Seeing no way upset Beth all over again.

She thought about it while dressing for the funeral in a simple black sheath and pumps. While seated in church during the funeral service. While riding to the cemetery in the limo, and while seated before Sara’s coffin waiting for the funeral to be over. Sara had fallen in love with a man who’d lied, betrayed, and beaten her. A man who’d used and abused her. A man who wanted her money but couldn’t have cared less about her, much less her heart. She’d loved him with all she’d had. But her all hadn’t been enough.

And then she’d discovered his duplicity and been trapped.

Emotionally divorcing him and finding the love of a good man in the tragedy seemed like adding insult to injury. A man who loved her so much he
pledged his devotion forever—regardless of whether or not she was ever in a position to return his love.

Tragic. Tragic. Tragic. And so unfair
. Hot, fat tears rolled down Beth’s face, soaked her tissue. Sara deserved to be happy. After all that had happened to her, with all that was to come, how could she ever be happy?

Beth cried in earnest … and Joe seemed to innately understand what she was thinking and feeling. He curled a protective arm around her. “Have faith, sha. Greater eyes than ours are watching over her.”

Grateful for the comfort he offered, she leaned into him, and he held her while she cried.

“It’s been two days, Joe.” Beth’s nerves strummed. “How long will he wait?”

“Not long.” Joe looked across Crossroads’s entrance. Mel at her desk on the phone. “All the insiders think he’ll move quickly, before you make any major changes.”

“I thought Nathara being at Sara’s funeral was hard to handle. But it was nothing compared to this waiting.”

Joe swept her hair back from her face with a gentle hand. “You’re doing fine, sha.”

She wasn’t doing fine. Her nerves were raw, like they were on the outside of her skin. “We need to go to SaBe and check the freezer.”

“It’s too soon. You can’t show up at the office yet.”

Ben, Mark, and Jeff agreed with Joe. It’d tip their hand to NINA. Still, standing idle was driving Beth up the proverbial wall.

“Roxy took a quick look.”

He hadn’t told her. “Did she find anything?”

“No, but she was interrupted. Others arrived. She had to get out or be discovered.”

The evidence was there. It had to be. Robert wouldn’t trust anyone else with evidence on him. No way. “Did Jeff pick up Tack Grady?”

“He’s under surveillance. They all are.”

That was reassuring for her and Sara, Nora, and Darla. “I can’t keep avoiding my home. They’re going to find that odd.”

“You’re right. But with it on the Gulf, there’s no way to guard it.”

“So what do we do?”

He thought a moment. “Fake an injury here at the center. Trip over a rug. Then we can keep you here and no one will think a thing of it.”

“And tonight? What then? You think on it and call Jeff. I’ll go fall.”

“We’ll take you to Three Gables too. Easier to guard you all together.”

“How do we explain—I know. Jeff can arrest me for Sara’s murder.”

“No way. Damaging consequences to SaBe.”

“I wasn’t thinking.” She rubbed at her head. “The problem is I
can’t
think.”

“Nora would blister your ears for that.” Joe curled his arms around her, kissed her. “You need to get away for a few days.”

“Perfect.” She dragged a shaky hand through her hair. “If I have to see my mother crying one more time, I’m going to lose my mind.”

“She loves Sara.”

“Yes, but it’s more than that. I told you she and Dad always have dreamed of living in Europe for a few years. They’ve been waiting for Sara and me to
get settled
so they can go without worrying about us. Mom’s known something was up with Sara, and she’s been nagging me to find a good man and settle down.”

“So she’s kept her dream on hold because even if Sara wouldn’t tell her what was wrong, her intuition warned her Sara was in jeopardy?”

“Exactly,” Beth admitted. “With all this NINA and Robert craziness, she’s been scared to death for us both. Now that Sara’s dead, she’s a basket case over me.”

“How could she not be? She loves you, sha.”

“Exactly.” Beth lifted a hand. “Seeing her upset, mourning and blaming herself … I can’t stand it.”

“Why is she blaming herself?”

“She’s a mother.” Beth sighed. “Anytime anything goes wrong with your kids, you feel as if it’s your fault.”

“But she had nothing to do with—”

“I didn’t say it was logical, Joseph. I said it’s the way moms react. Dads do too. Parents protect their kids. Period. It doesn’t matter if they’re grownups; they’re still your babies and you’re still supposed to protect them. When you don’t, it’s your fault. It doesn’t matter if it’s a freak accident or an evil man or an internationally feared terrorist organization. It’s your child and your fault.”

“Explains a lot about my mother. I never looked at it like that before, but I see it. Unfortunately with my family, she’s had tons of chances to take on guilt that wasn’t hers.”

“I just can’t do all I have to do, knowing she’s mourning and crying her heart out.”

“You’ll know it no matter where you are, sha.”

“But I won’t have to watch it. Maybe we can focus on ending this so she can stop.”

He nodded, pulled out his phone, then dialed. “Jeff, we’ve resolved what to do with Beth. Put the word out she’s getting away for a few days. You know where I’m taking her.”

“Got it. I happen to be at Ruby’s, and Megan is working.”

The village grapevine would get the word in warp speed. “We’ll consider the word spread then.”

Beth hugged him hard.