Jared’s grave marker was a good long walk from where she’d started out, but the headstone was clean and the grass around his marker had been mowed recently. She stood there, taking it all in. It was a peaceful day. Blue skies dotted with a few puffy white clouds. After a moment, she took a seat on the grass close to his marker. “I put an offer on that house I showed you,” she said. “The one with the acreage in Loomis. You liked it, and you said something about how it would make a good place for our kids to run around.” She hadn’t meant to cry, but the tears rolled freely as she talked. “We’re having a baby, Jared. You and me. Isn’t that a kick in the pants?”
She used a sleeve to wipe her face. “I want to thank you for everything. For bringing me back to life and for this child I’m carrying inside me.” She took a moment to breathe before she added, “I screwed up, Jared. I thought I could take the law into my own hands and dish out some vengeance, but I was wrong. I want you to know that I’m going to do everything I can to get the girls back on track. And this baby of ours,” she went on, her voice wavering, “is going to be brought up surrounded by love.” She brushed her fingertips over his headstone. “Everything’s going to be OK.”
Against her will, the image of Wayne Bennett rose up in her mind, and she prayed what she’d just said was true.
When Lizzy walked into the house a few hours later, there was lots of chatter. Hayley and Kitally had returned.
Betty Ackley, the woman Kitally had been working with at Shady Oaks, sat on the couch, fussing over the baby. Kitally and Hayley were there, too. Female names for Salma’s baby were still being tossed out there, everything from Alicia to Zoey, as Salma passed around another Pakistani dish. This one was called besan ladoo. The minute Salma saw Lizzy enter the room, she rushed over to greet her. “So? When is the due date?”
Lizzy frowned. “How did you know?”
“I was the one who told Hayley and Kitally that you were pregnant. It was so obvious.”
The room grew quiet until the only noise was the low rumble of a motor outside. Through the window, Lizzy saw Gus pushing a lawn mower through overgrown grass and weeds.
Hayley looked at her and said, “So, what’s the verdict?”
“It appears everyone knew I was pregnant except me. Looks like we’re having a baby.”
They all let out a cheer of some sort. Kitally rushed over to give her a congratulatory squeeze. “When are you due?”
“September 5.”
There was a lot to celebrate that day. They had all played a part in putting away the Sacramento Strangler. For now, citizens of Sacramento could breathe easier again.
And that wasn’t all. Kitally, Betty, Gus, and the others, had all gathered at the house for a reason. Shady Oaks Nursing Home was going out of business. Stacey Whitmore with Channel 10 News was covering the story.
Kitally hit Pause on the remote and then ran to the back door and called Gus inside.
Once everyone was present, Hayley picked up the remote, hit Play, then turned the volume up. “Stacey Whitmore here, reporting from the Shady Oaks Nursing Home in Orangevale.”
The reporting had been prerecorded.
Behind Stacey Whitmore, Shady Oaks was crawling with FBI agents.
“Look,” Kitally said, “they’re bringing Dixie out in handcuffs. She’s being arrested along with the owners and two other orderlies.”
“After the sudden death of Gus Valentine’s wife,” Stacey Whitmore was saying, “a tip from a resident of Shady Oaks prompted Gus Valentine and an investigator to do some snooping around. What they found prompted state officials to look into the matter. When investigators reviewed the medical records of Helsie Valentine, they determined she had died of ailments often related to poor care, including dehydration and an infected ulcer. Officials have since concluded that former resident Mary Branham’s demise was hastened by the inappropriate administration of antipsychotic drugs, which can have lethal side effects for seniors.
“The owners and five of their orderlies have declined to speak. The criminal case is ongoing. Health care regulators have already taken action, restricting Shady Oak’s medical license. The federal government is likely to move to fine the home’s owners upwards of half a million dollars.”
Kitally held up a fist and gave Gus a knuckle bump.
“You did it, kiddo.”
“We did it, Gus. You, me, and Betty.”
Wayne Bennett was hardly recognizable. Detective Chase stood at his bedside and took notes. He tried not to look at the man for too long, as it was hard not to wince at his swollen mess of a face. Bennett had been at Sutter General for days now, but this was the first time the man was able to talk.
“If you don’t arrest Lizzy Gardner,” Bennett was saying, “I’ll have every one of your boys scrutinized. They won’t be able to bet on a Monday Night Football game with their friends without getting written up. Do you hear me, Chase?”
“Do you have any proof that Lizzy Gardner was responsible for what happened to you?”
“I saw her with my own two eyes. Is that proof enough, Detective?”
“I thought you said your face was covered by a ski mask.”
Bennett tried to give him a winning smile, but he failed miserably. One of his eyes was swollen shut. His nose had been taped, and his upper lip had been sliced through and then patched up with stitches and tape. His signature flash of straight white teeth was nowhere to be seen. “It was her! I recognized her voice,” Bennett said. He pushed one of the buttons on his bed and told the nurse to get him a painkiller and make it quick.
He looked back at Chase. “I have security cameras. I’m sure I’ve got all the proof you need, Detective. Just don’t make the same mistake you made in DC.”
“What’s that?”
Bennett grimaced in pain. After a moment, he said through gritted teeth, “I know everything about you, Detective. I know why you were demoted, and what good did it do? You knew Mark Falcon owned the police station, but you went after his son anyhow.”
“His son was bad news.”
Bennett chuckled. “Yeah, I know. So why was he let out after serving two months of a six-year sentence?”
Chase kept quiet, let Bennett have his say. What Bennett said was true, but Chase knew he’d done the right thing. He’d do it again. He’d done all he could do to make sure Falcon’s rapist son got a fair trial and was put away. The kid needed to be taught a lesson. But Falcon’s son was released too soon, and Chase was demoted for his efforts. He had refused to play office politics, and that had landed him here in Sacramento.
“You refused to violate your own sense of morals, and for what?” Bennett said. “You have a lot to learn, Detective. If you want to impress the higher-ups, you’re going to have to impress me first. The guy with the money gets the last say. I’m that guy.”
“Are you finished?”
The nurse came in and was about to ask for privacy when Bennett shut her up and told her to just give him the damn shot.
She folded the sheet over and did as she was told.
Chase saw a crisscross of deep red welts across his ribs, stomach, and legs. It appeared every part of him had been left with a mark. Even Bennett’s face would more than likely be left with permanent scars.
There was something very satisfying about seeing how the creep had been brutalized, but at the same time he worried about Lizzy. If she was responsible, and even if she wasn’t, Bennett was going to make her pay for sticking her nose in his business.