But that was where the good news ended.The reality was that he was approaching a home where someone he loved had been murdered.Not only that, but two other women he cared for deeply were gone too.And the one who had survived, Ally, wouldn’t return his calls.
There was also the concern about what he might eventually be charged with.He didn’t know the ins and outs of whether he’d formally committed crimes, but some kind of fraud charge didn’t seem out of the question.
And then there was work.He hadn’t watched the news while he was at the station, but he knew there had been a press conference where his name, and his behavior, was mentioned.His employers would almost certainly have thoughts about that.The fact that he hadn’t yet gotten a call from them about all this was probably a bad sign.
And all that wasbeforedealing with the dirty little secret he’d kept from the police, but which was sure to come out soon.While he had been honest when he told Jessie Hunt that he’d only falsely married four women, that wasn’t the whole story.
The truth was that there were nearly a dozen other women that he’d wooed over the last few years.There wasn’t the same level of connection—or commitment—with any of them as with the four he’d fake-wed, but he still had great affection for them.
Admittedly, some had fallen by the wayside over the years, either because of logistical hurdles or because they just got too needy.But he counted five wonderful women that he still met up with on the regular when he travelled to their areas.They lived in locations as varied as Eureka in the far north, Palm Springs and Riverside in the Inland Empire, as well as Sacramento and Stockton.
If none of them had yet called in to the hotline that had been set up during the press conference, they surely would at some point.That meant potential legal and romantic complications that he wasn’t ready for.It could get very messy.
But as he pulled into his driveway, he tried to set all that aside.This was the home where his first true “wife,” the one he felt closest to, had died.As uncomfortable as it would be to go inside, he owed it to Lauren to find a way to honor her.Maybe he’d light a candle and say some kind of prayer.Maybe he’d cook her favorite meal and leave a plate out for her.
The house might be empty now.But his heart, though broken, was still full of love.
CHAPTER THIRTY
The house wasn’t empty.
Holly Martens had been waiting there for hours.
She knew it was a risk to go back to the scene of her first murder.And it might be a waste of time.Jason had been held at the police station all day and she didn’t know if he was even going to be let out or held overnight.
But once the crime scene people left, she felt that she had to take a chance.After all, she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to move about freely.If Jason had been honest with the police, always a questionable assumption when it came to him, they might already have her name and be looking for her.So, what better place to hide than the scene of her first kill, where she intended to commit her final one?
It was a long time coming and it would be well-deserved.When she first met Jason Mannix three months ago, it was like a fairy tale.She’d just been released from the halfway house she’d been living at following a six-week stay in a psychiatric hospital.After that harrowing stretch, one that involved what the staff called self-harm and fixating behavior including some cutting, along with chopping off her normally long brown locks, she’d finally gotten the all clear to live on her own again.
She found a tiny studio apartment in Santa Barbara, where she’d been attending college before the breakdown.She got a job as a server at a popular brunch spot.And then, on a sunny May morning, she’d met Jason.
He was seated at one of her tables and was eating alone.The man looked like a model, with his perfect face and warm smile.He said he was in town for business and that this was his favorite breakfast spot, even more so now that she was working there.He’d said it casually, not in a skeevy come-on way.And she’d melted.
He eventually said he had to go to a work meeting but wanted to know if she’d like to meet up for a drink that evening.She’d immediately agreed.That afternoon, she spent way too much time picking out the right outfit, ultimately settling on a body-hugging mini dress that accentuated her curves.
He was there waiting when she showed up that night.When she sat down, he handed her the flowers he’d picked up.They were yellow roses, which she’d offhandedly mentioned were her favorite that morning.
One thing led to another and they ended up spending that night at her place.He had to leave town the next day, but they made plans to get together again when he returned.
That return came three weeks later.She’d been a little apprehensive that he’d just want to hook up.But that wasn’t the case at all.They caught an afternoon movie and went to a nice restaurant for dinner.He took her to her apartment and was actually in the middle of saying that maybe they shouldn’t do anything that night when she basically attacked him, dragging him inside and ripping off his clothes.
It was like that for another month and a half.He visited three times over the course of the summer, each stopover lasting no more than a couple of days, but always memorable.But then, a month ago, he cancelled his next visit, saying only that a work thing had come up.
When he returned again a week and a half ago, she knew something was wrong.Instead of going to eat or to some kind of show, he took her to a busy park.That’s when he dropped the bomb.
“We’ve had an amazing time,” he told her.“But it can’t continue.”
“Why not?”she had demanded.“What did I do wrong?”
“Nothing,” he insisted.“It has nothing to do with you.My firm is removing Santa Barbara from my circuit.When they told me that, I had to think long and hard.We’ve been having a lot of fun, but I’m almost a decade older than you and we’re in very different places in our lives.Hanging out and having fun while I’m in town is one thing.But making special trips to continue casually seeing you, when you deserve someone who can fully commit?That doesn’t feel right.”
“Why can’t you fully commit to me?”she asked, trying to keep it together.Now she understood why he’d brought her to a public park.It was harder for her to lose it with so many people around.
“I just know myself,” he’d said.“I’m good for fun but as a long-term relationship partner, I’m terrible.So rather than string you along, I’ve decided to be honest and make a clean break before we get too emotionally involved.”
“But I’malreadyemotionally involved!”
“I’m so sorry, Holly.”
