Killjoy

Chapter 38

Jilly had grown impatient waiting for Monk to return to the car. What was taking him so long? She picked up the binoculars from the floor and watched the tower. Where was he? He knew how much she hated waiting. "Fix the damn

thing," she muttered. "Hurry up."

Monk suddenly came into view. Jilly gasped in disbelief as she watched him somersault onto the roof. She thought he was

going to break his neck. He came flying down from the tower, but while he was still in the air, he twisted around and landed

like a cat on his feet. He lost his balance, skated down the roof on his hands and knees. She thought he was going to flip down over the building, but he caught himself in time.

Two men leapt onto the roof above Monk. They were moving so fast their faces were a blur.

"Kill them," she whispered to Monk. "Kill them now. Do it."

Gunshots reverberated around her. She thought she heard Monk scream her name, and she watched with detached curiosity.

He fell so ungracefully and draped over the marquee, blood pouring down over the lights. He died with his ass sticking up in

the air. She cursed his incompetent soul.

How dare he do this to her? Her disappointment overwhelmed her, and her eyes stung with tears. The remote. She frantically grabbed it and pushed the button. Once, then again and again. Nothing happened.

Damn. How could Monk be so thoughtless? He knew how important her dreams were.

Stomping her feet on the floor, she cursed him because he had ruined everything. Worse, he had made her unhappy.

"Damn you to hell," she muttered.

He'd left the keys in the ignition. Ignoring his order to take the other car if there was trouble, she hiked her skirt up over her

thighs, climbed over the console, and got behind the wheel. Men, FBI men, she knew, were ru

were people flooding out of the church to see what all the commotion was about. No one would notice her leaving. She pulled

out onto the street, and so that she wouldn't draw any undue attention to herself, she stayed below the speed limit as she cruised through town.

The second she reached the on-ramp to the highway, she slammed her foot on the gas pedal. Muttering curses, she slapped

the steering wheel, trying to vent some of her rage.

She had someone else ready to help, of course. No one was going to steal her dreams again. No one. She knew Monk had weapons packed in his suitcases, and by God, if she had to kill Carrie and Avery herself to get her dreams back, then that's

what she would do.

"Stupid Monk," she hissed. "Stupid, stupid man."

The tail car stayed well behind Jilly. There were three agents riding with Avery in the sedan. Kelly was driving, and she sat

behind him. She tried not to let her anxiety show, but it was extremely difficult.

Her heart felt like it had stopped when she heard the gunshots, and she didn't take a breath until she heard John Paul's voice

over the radio. She went weak with relief and then immediately started worrying again.

"Do you think she's spotted us?" she asked Kelly.

"I'm sure she doesn't know she's being followed," he replied.

Jilly was now so far ahead of them on the highway, Avery could barely see the back of her head.

"She's speeding, isn't she?"

"Yes," he answered. "She's going at least eighty."

"If there's a speed trap-"

"There isn't," he assured her.

"How do you know?"

"I know."

She moved on to another worry. "Shouldn't you get closer?"

"I'm not going to lose her, Delaney. Now sit back and relax."

"She's turning."

"I see her."

Avery forced herself to stop telling the agent in charge what to do. It would all be over in just a few minutes. If she could just

stay calm that long, she could spend a month falling apart if that was her inclination. Stay cool, she told herself.

Jilly had almost missed the entrance to the Windjammer motel. Avery watched her slow her car, make the turn, and drive

across the parking lot. She lost sight of her then as Kelly sped on. He pulled into the exit, circled around the motel, and parked

next to the restaurant adjacent to the parking lot.

"She's parked in front of the steps," Kelly said.

Avery was looking up at the units. All the doors faced the street. Then she looked at Jilly. She wished they were closer so

she could get a good look at her face.

"What's she doing?" she asked as she leaned forward.

"Brushing her hair," Kelly said.

Avery squinted against the sunlight. She saw Jiily pull down the vanity mirror.

"Is she putting lipstick on?"

"She sure is," Kelly said.

She sat back when the agent turned off the motor and rolled the window down. "You get out of this car, Delaney, and I swear-"

She didn't let him finish his threat. "I won't move."

Avery looked at Jilly again. She must have been satisfied with her appearance because she finally opened the car door and got out.

"Showtime," Kelly whispered.

Jilly ran up the first flight of stairs, raced along the outside corridor until she found the number she was looking for, and then stopped. Avery watched her spread the collar on her blouse so that cleavage would show. She smoothed her tight skirt, and then rapped on the door.

Avery's stomach lurched. She heard her voice calling out, "Darling, it's me, Jilly."

Tony Salvetti opened the door.

Chapter 39

The trial in Sheldon Beach didn't drag on long. The attorney prosecuting the case was competent and effective, and

with the evidence at hand, he was able to convince a second jury that Dale Skarrett had broken into Lola Delaney's home

with the intent of kidnapping Avery Delaney. In the process of committing the felony, he had caused the premature death

of Lola Delaney.

Skarrett insisted on testifying, which was a big mistake. He mumbled and squirmed, and by the time the prosecuting attorney

got finished with him, the felon was screaming obscenities at him for twisting everything he said.

Skarrett insisted that he hadn't used Avery as a shield and that he was really only trying to assist the child to her feet when her grandmother fired the gun. He couldn't explain why he'd taken his belt off and beaten her nearly to death except to say that he was simply trying to coax her into going with him to see her mother.

The photos of Avery in the hospital proved beyond a reasonable doubt that 'Skarrett had left her in that hallway to die. Within

an hour, the jury rendered its verdict, and Skarrett was led back to prison, where he belonged.

John Paul stayed in Sheldon Beach with Avery through the entire trial, and Carrie flew in the day before Avery was scheduled

to testify. The aunt had been to hell and back, and he expected to meet a shattered woman. She wasn't, though. If she was devastated by her husband's betrayal, she didn't let it show.

In between her calls to her staff in Bel Air, John Paul told Carrie he was going to marry Avery. She didn't want to hear that.

If her niece was going to marry, she should find a man with potential… and money. What kind of life would she have, married

to a carpenter?

Oh, yes, Carrie was one tough cookie… and meaner than a crocodile when she didn't get her way.

He really liked her.

MR.Carter will see you now."

"Thank you." Avery straightened her skirt and smiled at the receptionist as she walked to the door.

"You want me to go in with you?" John Paul asked.

She shook her head. "You'll wait here?"