“That I wouldn’t know about.”
“Hannah’s expected to recover. She’s talking about moving away. Starting over. Putting this behind her. If that’s possible.”
Reed nodded. “I don’t blame her. She was involved with Bandeaux, too. And then her sister tries to kill her by slitting her throat.” He shook his head. Savannah had a reputation for scandalous stories, but this topped them all. “Hell, Rebecca Wade sure stepped into it, didn’t she?”
“And ended up one more victim.”
“In a long string.”
“No pun intended,” Morrisette said and Reed was reminded of Atropos with her surgical scissors and braided cords. “What a psychopath! And when it gets right down to it, Amanda killed for the Montgomery money.”
“Nah.” Reed wasn’t buying it. “She killed for the killing’s sake.” He thought of all the victims, how they’d suffered, how much thought and effort Amanda, as Atropos, had put into the murders. “It was a thrill for her, a way she could prove that she was smarter than the others, that she deserved to inherit the old man’s wealth. She loved it—got off on it.”
Morrisette nodded. “Point taken. What a shame. An effin’ shame.” Morrisette was religiously putting money into the damned Hello Kitty bank, but her language still suffered. At least her kids would end up with a decent education—hell, they could probably go effin’ ivy league.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Adam Hunt wrote a book on it, you know, pick up where his ex-wife left off,” Reed said. “I hear that book publishers are sniffin’ around him and Caitlyn Bandeaux. Even talk of a movie deal. How about that?”
“Someone will probably do it.” She scratched an elbow. “You know, if Amanda killed everyone to inherit the fortune, she sure took her damned time about it. First Baby Parker and then years later she escalates? Come on. That’s not usual.”
“Nothing about this case was.” Reed had thought about the time frame. “Between you and me, I think she snapped, I mean really snapped when she found out her husband was having a fling with Sugar Biscayne, but then, I don’t really know. I’m not the shrink. It’s damned ironic that she was setting up Caitlyn, using all the rumors about the mental illness running through the family when she was the one who thought she was other people, had delusions of power, a real head case. She seemed like a split personality with all that Atropos crap. Caitlyn Bandeaux did the taxpayers of the city a big favor by blowing her away.” He glanced out his window to the bright day outside. Savannah was a grand old lady of a town, one he’d lived in twice, but she had her secrets. Dark, ever-present secrets.
“How would you like to have that on your conscience—killing your own sister?” Morrisette asked.
“It wouldn’t bother me a bit. Remember this is a sister who had killed my kid, my mother, my father, my husband and everyone else she could murder. How would I feel about putting her out of her misery?” Reed flashed a grin. “I’d feel just fine about it. Guaranteed.”
“Yeah, right.”
“But I’m sure Caitlyn Bandeaux is going to have years of therapy. Maybe even a lifetime of it.”
“At least she’s alive. And I hear she’s been seeing Adam Hunt.”
“Romantically?”
Morrisette lifted a shoulder. “He
is
a hunk.”
“You would know.”
“Amen, brother. Amen!” She slapped his desk as her pager went off. “What now?” She glanced at the readout and hopped to the floor. “It’s my sitter. I’ve got to run. I’m taking the rest of the day off to be with my kids. Takin’ ’em swimming, now that they’re both healthy again. We’re going shopping on Bart’s fuckin’ money. And don’t worry, I’ve got another bank on the shopping list. The first one’s full up.”
“You getting another one of those kitty things?”
“Is there any other kind? If you need anything, don’t call.” She was out the door in a heartbeat.
“Drive safely,” he yelled after her. “Remember we have speed limits in this town and they’re strictly enforced.”
“Up yours, Reed!” But her laughter echoed back to him. Sylvie Morrisette was okay, once you got past the prickly I’m-as-good-as-any-man-cop attitude. He could do worse. Lots worse.
Epilogue
“You want to go for a ride?” Caitlyn asked Oscar as she hurried down the stairs. “Well, come on.” The little dog bounded ahead of her through the door to the garage. The Lexus was already filled with small bouquets of holly boughs and bright poinsettias, Christmas bouquets for the cemetery.
While Oscar stuck his nose out of the open window, she drove through the town where grand old houses were festooned in lights and greenery and ribbons. It was nearly Christmas, and Caitlyn felt better than she had in a long, long while. She was going to a new therapist, one with whom she wasn’t personally involved, and she was even considering allowing Adam to write her story. Not that he’d asked; he’d never mentioned it once in the past six months and he’d been with her nearly every day. He wanted her to move in with him and there was the hint of marriage, but she wasn’t ready. She needed more time to find out who she was, Caitlyn Montgomery Bandeaux. Until she was certain that she was mentally whole again, she didn’t want to become a part of someone else’s life.
She parked near the family plot and snapped on Oscar’s leash. The wind was brisk for Savannah, rustling through the dry leaves and billowing the Spanish moss. With Oscar tugging at the leash, she carried flowers to each grave, holding back tears when she saw her daughter’s headstone.
Her throat thick, she kissed her fingertips and brushed them over the cold marble. “I love you,” she whispered and sent up a prayer for Jamie’s sweet little soul. Some pain would never completely go away, she knew, and she accepted it.
But the terror of the horrible ordeal with Amanda was fading, blurring into her past, very rarely keeping her awake at night.
From the corner of her eye, she saw him and smiled through her tears. Adam had said he’d meet her here, in this place where he’d first approached her. Her doubts about him had faded with time and she’d found him to be warm and gentle, a considerate lover who was patient or passionate. The first time they’d made love since she’d left the hospital, she’d been worried, concerned that it might spark the return of her Kelly personality. She needn’t have been concerned. The entire night of kissing and touching and exploring, she’d been herself, feeling for the first time the joy of loving him.
They’d been outside for a walk with Oscar when the sky had opened up. Rain pelted them as they’d dashed back to the house and dripping, hurried into the kitchen. She’d nearly tripped over Oscar’s leash and Adam had caught her. They’d both tumbled to the floor, she on top of him and Adam had pulled her close, pressed his face into the cleft of her breasts visible through her soaked blouse, then begun to kiss her. She’d responded eagerly and this time as they’d come together, slick, wet bodies joining, she’d experienced each emotion, every tingling sensation—his hands on her buttocks, his tongue on her nipples, his erection hard against her abdomen before he’d finally slid between her legs and made love to her as if he’d never stop.
Even now the memory was crystal clear. She hadn’t lost herself in the Kelly personality. In fact as the weeks passed, that personality seemed to be fading. Caitlyn knew that someday she would be completely whole. And Adam would be at her side. She turned to him and fought the tears burning the back of her eyes.
“Hey,” she said as he approached.
“Hey, back at you.” He saw the tears in her eyes. “You okay?”
“You’re the shrink. You tell me.”
“My professional opinion? You’re hopeless.”
She socked him in the arm.
“My personal opinion?”
She arched an eyebrow.
“You are definitely okay.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Maybe beyond ‘okay.’ Even perfect.”
She laughed. “God, Adam, enough, okay. Perfect?” She thought about what she’d been through, what they’d shared, how well he knew her. “You need to get out more.”
“Good point. How about dinner?”
“Mmm. Maybe.”
“I’ll cook.”
She laughed again. “Then I think I’ll pass.”
He squeezed her. “You’re bad.”
“From perfect to bad in ten seconds. That must be some kind of record.”
“Come on, let’s go home.
You
can cook.”
She rolled her eyes as Oscar ran around them, wrapping the leash around their legs. “No way. Let’s go out.”
“Whatever you want.” He dropped a kiss on her lips and she felt warm inside. Safe. Complete. Which was silly.
“I think I just changed my mind,” she said, knowing her eyes were glimmering with mischief. “Let’s stay in. All night.”
“So it’s pizza and beer.”
“To start with,” she said, unwrapping Oscar’s leash and trying not to trip. “After that, who knows? Maybe we could do some role playing.”
A grin slid from one side of his mouth to the other. “That could be dangerous, don’t you think?”
“Oh, I don’t think,” she said and kissed him again. Taking his hand, she pulled him to the car. “I know.”
Dear Reader,
I hope you liked THE NIGHT BEFORE. I’ve got to admit that I had a lot of fun writing the book and, man, was the research a blast! Two trips to Savannah. What fun. Savannah is truly a magnificent, intriguing city with its grand old houses, rumors of ghosts and rich history. I was in heaven while I was there, even when I was caught in a rainstorm that would rival any I’ve ever seen here in Oregon.
So I’m really lucky. I think I get to go back to Savannah for research on my next thriller, THE MORNING AFTER. That’s right, THE MORNING AFTER is the companion book to THE NIGHT BEFORE, the sequel with some of the same characters peppering the pages.
Let’s talk a little about THE MORNING AFTER. It stars Detective Pierce Reed and the frustrated reporter for the
Savannah Sentinel,
Nikki Gillette.
Nikki’s been looking for her big break for years. Tired of being relegated to the local society teas, spelling bees and school budget meetings, the daughter of Judge Ron Gillette is searching for a way to propel herself into the big time.
As far as Detective Reed is concerned, Nikki is a pain in the backside, always nosing around his investigations and this next one, a serial killer stalking the streets of Savannah is nothing for an amateur to be fooling with. This guy’s murders are bizarre and bone chilling. The killer has an agenda and it’s aimed straight at Reed. The last thing Detective Reed and the Savannah Police Department need is a nosy reporter poking around in their investigation.
Things go from bad to worse as the clues start to unravel the mystery and with a new mind-numbing terror, Reed discovers the killer’s true motives. No one is safe. Least of all, Nikki Gillette.
I hope you pick up a copy of THE MORNING AFTER which is now in bookstores. Some of the other characters you met here and in my previous books will appear. I’ve enclosed an excerpt for THE MORNING AFTER in the next few pages so check it out!
For some computer fun, log on to my website @
www.lisajackson.com
for more information about THE NIGHT BFORE, THE MORNING AFTER and my other releases. I have contests running and also go to
www.themysterymansion.com
for some cool games and contests. Those of you who’ve read THE NIGHT BEFORE will have an edge when entering the contests as they are about the book. While you’re browsing the site, you’ll notice that
www.themysterymansion.com
home page is the computer replica of Oak Hill, the mansion in THE NIGHT BEFORE. Inside those decrepit doors are the lairs of some of my villains. So enter if you dare, sign my guest book, try to win a contest, and tell me what you think of the book.
Once again, I hope you enjoyed THE NIGHT BEFORE.
Keep reading!
Lisa Jackson
Please turn the page for an exciting sneak peek of Lisa Jackson’s next thriller THE MORNING AFTER
Prologue
Oh, God it was cold . . . so cold . . .
Bobbi Jo shivered.
And the silence. Deafening. She was . . . where?
Bobbi Jo’s eyes flew open.
It was dark. Airless.
Panic chiseled through her bones. This was wrong, all wrong. She tried to sit up but couldn’t move. Her forehead bumped against something hard and there were sides pressing her onto the bed . . . no, not a bed, something softer and spongier and squishy. Fear scorched her brain as the horrendous smell assailed her. She was squeezed into some kind of box.
A coffin?
God, no! That was impossible? This was all some kind of weird, macabre dream. That was it. That had to be it. But her blood was pumping frantically through her body. She tried to kick upward, to push, to climb out of this horrible confining space with its slick lining and . . . and . . . Jesus Christ, she was lying on something.
Or someone!
A body? She was wedged into a coffin with a dead person?
“No!”
she cried, screaming and clawing at the top of the coffin. Wildly, she tore at the smooth satin lining, her fingernails breaking, her skin ripping. The stench was overwhelming, the air so cold and thin . . . “Help me! Oh, God! Help me! Someone please!” she shrieked so loudly it echoed back at her ears. This
had
to be some kind of bizarre nightmare. And yet the pain in her fingertips, the blood flowing under her nails convinced her that she was living her own worst fear.
Horror strangled her and she thought she might pass out. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she kicked, and scratched, willing someone, anyone to help her out of this tomb of death.
But the darkness remained. The squishy body beneath her didn’t move and above her own screams she thought she heard the thud of dirt and stones being piled on top of this hideous coffin. “No! No!” she pounded, pleading and crying. “Let me out! Please, please!”
Who would do this to her?
Why . . . oh, God, why . . . who had she wronged so horribly? There were many, she realized as panic squeezed through her and her mind spun crazily to thoughts of the men in her life and to one in particular. Pierce Reed. Detective with the Savannah Police Department.
No . . . Reed wouldn’t do this to her, didn’t really know how deeply their lives were entwined, but some monster had trapped her here.
She began to shiver and weep.
“Let me out! Let me out,” she screamed, sobbing, her skin crawling with the thought of the decomposing human that was her bed.
She gasped, drawing in a ragged, burning breath of what was left of the air. Her lungs were on fire from lack of oxygen and she felt suddenly weak. She made one last vain attempt to claw her way out of her prison.
Above the macabre silence she thought she heard the throaty cackle of heinous, demonic laughter.
Oh, God, help me.
Whoever had done this to her was enjoying it.