Chapter Sixty-Seven

Jacoby had sprinted out of the office to his car with Barry Jones at his heels. Jones barely had time to slam the car door closed before Jacoby peeled out of the parking lot.

Jones fastened his seat belt and looked apprehensively at Jacoby. “Where are we going, Jack? If you don’t slow down I’m going to have to give you a speeding ticket.” In response, Jacoby clamped a flashing blue light to the roof and turned on the siren of his unmarked police car. Jones was grateful that it was after 2:00 AM and there was almost no traffic on Route 7.

When Jacoby made the left onto Georgetown Pike, it dawned on Barry Jones where they were heading.

“Why are we going to the Senator’s house?”

“Because that’s where Carl Stone is.”

As he drove, Jacoby told Jones about his suspicions. “Even full of liquor, something tells me that Bonnie Jaffe is a woman that keeps her wits about her. She tried to tell that dim-witted officer I sent her home with that something was wrong at the house, but he was too thick headed to listen to her.”

“You might be right, but how can you be so sure he’s still there? Why would he hang around the Senator’s house?”

“Because he hadn’t finished what he’d come to do.”

“What’s that, Jacoby?”

“Kill Bonnie Jaffe.”

At that moment a terrified Bonnie was sitting in her husband’s leather chair next to the fireplace. It was the same chair Jaffe had been sitting in when he’d told Stone how he’d killed Victoria Sherwood. Carl Stone was standing in front of Bonnie Jaffe holding a long knife. She swallowed hard. She knew if she had any chance of surviving she was going to have to think of a way to delay Stone long enough for Jacoby to get there. She tried to estimate how long it would take him to get to her.

“Carl, stop and think for a moment about what you’re doing. I’m Stuart’s wife for God’s sake. My husband would be livid if he knew what you were doing right now.”

“He’ll thank me. He hasn’t loved you for a long time. I’m doing him a favor.”

“You’re insane, Carl. How do you think Stu is going to react when he finds out that you killed the mother of his children?”

“You’re a loose end, Mrs. Jaffe. I don’t like loose ends and neither does the Senator. You shouldn’t have gone to the police. If you hadn’t done to the police maybe this wouldn’t have been necessary. I could have let you go. I might have even driven you to the airport. But it’s too late now. You’re going to have to die, Mrs. Jaffe.”

She was beyond terrified. Her hands gripped the leather arms of the chair while her mind searched for a way out of her predicament. Maybe this was her fault. It was her insane jealousy that had landed her in this mess. She had lived with her husband’s infidelity for years but when she had been confronted with it earlier that night something snapped. Nothing had mattered anymore. Not her marriage. Not the celebrity. Not the distinction of being the wife of a U.S. Senator. Nothing mattered except for revenge.

“I need a drink, Carl. You can do that for me can’t you? I always told myself I didn’t want to die sober.”

Carl laughed. Bonnie had never heard him laugh before. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. “Sure, Mrs. Jaffe. You can have a drink. But you’ll have to make it yourself because, as you can see, I’ve got my hands full at the moment.” He gestured to the bar next to the fireplace. “Be my guest.”

She got up and inched her way to the bar. She had to move slowly because the blade of Stone’s knife was pressed against her throat. She managed to fill one of Jaffe crystal glasses with whiskey but instead of bringing the glass to her lips she hurled the liquid into Stone’s face. He dropped the knife and pressed his palms against his eyes. Bonnie took advantage of his momentary confusion to swing the nearby poker toward his head. He fell, giving her a chance to run for the front door. Behind her she could hear Stone stumbling to his feet and cursing.