A Willing Murder Read online

  Kate turned to look at him but he was staring at the screen.

  They saw the back of a blonde female head go to him and kiss his cheek. When she walked away, her face couldn’t be seen, but Jack looked like he was about to melt. Young love was in his eyes. It would have been sweet except for what they knew had happened.

  The next clip was a profile of Cheryl. Just her cheek could be seen, but her body was in clear view. She was built! A tight red skirt hugged her curvy backside and showed off her little waist. She had on dark hose and four-inch heels.

  She was bending over Jack, who was curled up on the floor. The lack of sound didn’t hide the fact that he was saying, “No! No!” From Jack’s story, they knew he was laughing, but in the video, it looked like he was begging her to stop—but she wouldn’t.

  The third clip was the worst. It showed Cheryl sitting behind an old table, talking to the camera. She was pretty, yes, but what made Kate involuntarily suck in her breath was that the girl looked to be in her late twenties, maybe older. She had on a lot of makeup. Her shoulder-length hair had been twisted back into a soft chignon, and she wore pearl earrings. Her white shirt didn’t hide her impressive bust.

  No one seeing the film would believe she was just fifteen years old.

  When she stopped talking, her pretty face turned to anger. Or, actually, rage. She stood up and again they saw the curves of her. No wonder the boys were after her! Kate thought.

  The camera recorded her stalking forward in her very tall heels. Her arm shot out.

  In the next second, she pulled young Jack into view. She had him in a scissor hold, his head smashed against her breast. She rubbed the top of his head hard with her knuckles. The boy struggled to get away, but she held him and kept rubbing.

  The video ended abruptly and Detective Cotilla put down the lid. He waited a moment, then handed Kate the fourth report.

  This time, Jack read it with them. Captain Edison wrote that he was disgusted by what he’d seen and he wished Cheryl Morris hadn’t run away. He would very much like to arrest her for corrupting a minor. But all he could do was send her photo to a few surrounding states and hope to find her.

  After that were five yearly notes saying that there was no news of either of the women.

  They put down the papers and looked at Detective Cotilla.

  “That’s it,” he said. “That’s all of what happened.” He looked at Jack. “I’ve read your father’s rap sheet, and based on what I’ve seen of his temper, I think he saw the films and he went back. There was probably a fight and it got out of hand.”

  He waited for Jack to reply but he said nothing. “We know that the mother of this, uh...Cheryl—” he seemed to be sickened by saying her name “—supplemented her income with prostitution. Her daughter didn’t have a good role model, but even so, what she did to a young boy...”

  As he looked at Jack with pity, he withdrew a business card from his jacket pocket and held it out to him.

  Jack didn’t take it.

  Detective Cotilla put it on the coffee table and Kate picked it up. It was the name and address of a clinic that dealt with adults who had been the victims of child sexual abuse.

  “Things like this affect your whole life,” Detective Cotilla said with sympathy. “You’re what? Past thirty and not married? If you get help, maybe you could—”

  Abruptly, Sara stood up. “Thank you both for coming,” she said loudly. “We’ll keep these documents and go over them.” She held her arm out to point them toward the way out.

  The detective went to the door, but Flynn held back. He was looking at Jack.

  His smirk was gone and he seemed to be sympathetic. “Could have been worse than with that girl. I know a lot of men in this town were waiting for her to follow her mother. Roy told me that—”

  Jack came up off the couch, his eyes blazing anger.

  Kate stepped between the two men. As before, she put her arm through the sheriff’s. “How was your dinner? I bet your speech was enlightening.”

  The sheriff seemed to be glad for a face-saving way to get away from Jack. He quickened his pace to get to the door. “It wasn’t really a speech but the applause was good. It’s nice to be appreciated for all I do.” He glanced over his shoulder at Jack, who was still standing at the end of the couch.

  When they were gone, they went back outside into the lovely Florida weather. Jack started eating, but Kate and Sara just stared into space in silence.

  It was all so twisted, Kate thought. It looked like there was going to be no further investigation, which meant that Roy Wyatt’s lies were going to win. Based on what she’d seen of the gossip in Lachlan, it wouldn’t be long before everyone knew all the facts. Roy’s death would end anyone’s curiosity about whether he did or didn’t do it. It was going to be Jack who would suffer. He’d be labeled as the son of a murderer. Even worse was that it would be said that Roy was right in killing Cheryl Morris. She was the girl everyone thought was so good, but who was actually a child molester. Kate could imagine the videos going viral. There’d be Cheryl dressed up like someone double her age and wrestling a very pretty little boy who kept saying no.

  Jack’s protests wouldn’t drown out a viral video. Besides, didn’t victims often side with their abusers?

  She looked at Jack and Sara. His jaw muscle was working and Sara’s face showed her growing sadness. Kate worried that she might be like her mother and never get out of it.

  She took a breath. They couldn’t let this beat them. “You sure were the prettiest little boy I ever saw.”

  Jack looked startled. “When did you see me?”

  Sara smiled in a way that let him know she wasn’t answering that. “For years, he looked like an angel. But then he reached puberty and he went through a gangly stage. He was too tall, too thin, and he had skin problems. But he turned out rather nice.”

  Kate looked at Jack like she was a judge in a cattle show. “He’s okay now, but the kid... Wow.”

  Jack’s face was beginning to relax. “Cheryl was the beauty.”

  “Even when I did TV, I didn’t wear that much makeup,” Sara said. “I can’t walk in heels that high.”

  “She was five foot two and she would have worn stilts if she could get away with it,” Jack said.

  “The head rub?” Kate asked. “Was that when you gave her the tongue twisters? Rubber baby buggy bumpers? That sort of thing?”

  “Yeah. And Peter Piper.”

  “Roy must have...” Kate didn’t want to complete that thought.

  Sara picked up a piece of cheese. “He probably went to her house and made a pass at her. Wonder what she did to get him to go away?”

  “You can be sure that just the word no didn’t do it,” Jack said.

  “I guess the ‘cock-and-bull story’ she told him was about being a newscaster. And she showed videos as proof.” For all that Kate had tried to lighten the mood, she was thinking about what that poor girl must have gone through.

  “He took the camera and all the films away from her,” Jack said.

  “When Roy saw that you’d given her something with Henry’s name on it, he probably went berserk,” Sara said. “He was always insanely jealous of Henry. Cal told me of Roy’s threats and complaints about Henry. Sheer jealousy.”

  “Who’s Cal?” Kate asked.

  Jack smiled. “My grandfather. The love of our Sara’s life. He’s why she puts up with me.”

  Kate looked at Sara questioningly.

  “All true.” Sara waved her hand. “That doesn’t matter. The problem now is that Jack is going to be the one who is persecuted.”

  Kate nodded. “He’ll have to bear the brunt of the rumors that will fly. A father who is a murderer.” She sighed. “And he may be thought to be so damaged that he’s impotent.”

  Jack spit out a mouthful of Sara’s green tea. “Like h