Chapter Forty-One

"So you weren't lying when you said you could cook."

Casey looked up from the wok she was hovering over. "I'm not a gourmet, don't get me wrong. But some nights, I just like to play in the kitchen with a glass of wine."

"So fried rice, huh?" She walked closer, refilling Casey's wineglass.

"Fried rice with chicken and shrimp. And a few veggies tossed in to make it semi-healthy." She took a sip of wine and smiled. "Thanks."

Leslie pulled out a chair at the small table and sat down, watching her. It had been an emotional few days, but they hadn't really had time to reconcile everything. Technically, their case was still open. Patrick was not in custody. But they'd been crawling all over the Deep Ellum area for three days and nights, and still no sign of Patrick. The few men on the street who would talk to them said they hadn't seen him in days. But it was only when they talked to Sammy that they feared Patrick had left town.

He ain't been around, the bastard. Poor John. I can't believe he's dead.

John Doe. As ironic as his name, that's how he'll be buried. There was no one to claim his body.

"Hey."

Leslie looked up.

"You ready to talk about it?"

Leslie shrugged. "It's just a tragic situation. I keep thinking, what if it had been me and you there instead of Tori and Sikes. I'd have taken the shot, yes. That's not a question. But could I live with myself? John was an innocent pawn in all this. Patrick used him at will, from wearing the dress, to dying his hair, to taking a knife to Sikes. He was innocent, all the way to the end. And now we have no hope of finding Patrick. He's slithered off to another city, no doubt."

"Most likely, yeah."

"So what did we accomplish? We have three women dead. An innocent, simple-minded boy dead. And John Sikes lying in a hospital bed, damn lucky to be alive. What did we accomplish?" Leslie stood. "And don't say he's off the streets here in Dallas. So what? So he moves on? There's now another city that's not safe."

"We did the best we could, Les. Like I said many times, he was like a damn ghost." Casey moved the wok to a cool burner and turned, facing her. "How do you think I feel? I had the bastard right in my hands, and I let him go. I should have known it wasn't John."

"They were playing a game. How could you know?"

"Because I did realize it," she said. "Before we heard the shots, I knew it wasn't John."

Leslie frowned.

"When I finally caught him, he kept saying don't hurt me, don't hurt me. And I'm like, I'm not going to hurt you. We've never hurt John. So I left him with one of the officers, told him to put John in the patrol car. And when I was going to go after you, it hit me. John never said don't hurt me. " She tilted her head. "What did John always say to me?"

" Don't tie me up, Miss Casey. "

"Exactly. So I went running back. But he'd gotten out of the car and was gone. Then we heard the shots. And I knew it was too late."

Leslie walked closer and wrapped her arms around Casey's shoulders, pulling her close. Casey was suffering too. She'd been too caught up in her own misgivings, too worried about Sikes, to realize that Casey felt partly to blame as well.

"There are so many variables in this case, aren't there?" She kissed her softly on the mouth. "Tori feels responsible because she sent Sikes in. She's taking the blame for killing John and not Patrick. You feel like it's your fault because you had Patrick and you didn't know it. And I feel like it's my fault too. We saw them together--one in a dress, one in pants. I was so sure that Patrick was the one in the dress. So sure." Her arms slipped away from Casey and she picked up her wineglass again. "The break this weekend comes at a good time. I think we all need it. Tori especially."

"Yeah. And you'll love being on the boat. Sleeping is wonderful. It's cool out. The motion of the water just relaxes you. It'll be great."

She smiled. "Sleeping, huh?"

Casey wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. "I think Sam is looking forward to you being there. She likes you. And Tori and I tend to get absorbed in fishing."

"I like her too. It'll be good to spend time with them. I'm looking forward to getting to know them as well as you do." She put her glass down. "I'm going to shower before dinner. Okay?"

"Sure, go ahead. I've got to warm the egg rolls yet."

She stopped at the door and turned back around. "Casey?"

"Hmm?"

"I...I really...like you a lot." She mentally rolled her eyes. Like? No, she was in love with her. But telling her in the kitchen while she cooked Chinese food didn't seem like the perfect moment.

Casey smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I like you too."

Leslie laughed. "Yeah."

But in the living room, her smile faded as she looked out the window to the lake and saw a face staring back at her. She gasped, unable to stop the startled scream. Then Casey was behind her.

"What is it?"

Leslie shook her head. "I thought...I thought I saw someone outside," she said as she held her hand over her chest, embarrassed by her racing heart.

"Let me check it out."

Leslie grabbed her arm to stop her. "No, no. It was nothing. Just my imagination, I'm sure." Wasn't it? She made herself walk to the window, her eyes darting in every direction. There was no one out there.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." But her eyes bounced off every window, suddenly wishing Casey had drapes to hide the view of the lake.

Patrick? Was he out there?

Don't be silly.

But still.

"Casey?"

"Yeah?"

"Shower with me?"

Поиск по сайту: