Page 12 of False Evidence

The three-bay structure was cold and dark, but the garage door buttons glowed orange, and she tapped the one for the empty middle bay.

She drove the car inside, then found the large canvas cover JT used to cover his Lotus and draped it over the Jetta. JT had purchased the Lotus immediately after Alexandra broke their engagement. Now she was glad for the purchase—which had in part been meant to hurt her—because the Jetta was completely concealed from a casual search.

She returned to the house and locked herself inside, then leaned back against the door and took a deep breath. She was far from the scene of the murder and, for the moment, safe.

But at what cost? By running, she’d made herself look even more guilty.

No one would believe that the officer had assaulted her. She’d hit him in the head and had been prepared to tase him, but shehadn’tbeen the one to kill him.

She’d grabbed his gun before she spotted the Taser. When she returned to the road to check on him, his holster had been empty and a gun lay on the pavement, feet from his body.

Her fingerprints were on it and the Taser.

They had her car, purse, and phone. She rubbed her hands over her shoulders as a chill took her. She pushed off the door and went to the hall where the thermostat was mounted. A fire in the woodstove was the most efficient way to heat the main room, but she was too tired for that now.

The furnace must have been upgraded since she’d been here last, as there was a new control panel that divided the house into separate heating and cooling zones. She set the downstairs to sixty-eight degrees, then set off in search of a phone or computer, not expecting to find either but hoping nonetheless.

When her search proved fruitless, she grabbed a blanket from the guest bedroom she would sleep in and went to the living room, hoping the satellite dish was still connected.

She needed to see what was being said about her on the news.

ChapterFive

JT sat in the driveway in front of Lee’s house and took several deep breaths. Lee was out of his mind for having suggested this. JT was the last person who should be responsible for anyone under the age of sixteen.

But the situation for Alexandra was dire, and Gemma could be used by the cops for leverage.

JT didn’t really have a choice. He said yes before he could think it through.

Next thing he knew, Erica was on the phone, giving him a lengthy list of things he’d need. He’d then gone to a twenty-four-hour mega store and practically cleaned out the baby section.

There could be no waiting for morning. He had to get Alexandra’s daughter out of town before CPS showed up. That could take days or even weeks, but no one wanted to take the chance it would be later rather than sooner.

Not when Gemma could be moved like a pawn. A gambit to draw out her mother.

Right now, the police might not even know Erica had picked up the girl from daycare, and they weren’t breaking any laws in passing the child off to JT, except that Alexandra would probably question Erica’s judgment in choosing him, of all people.

Still, he was the only logical choice. His and Lex’s breakup was well known to anyone familiar with him or T&D. It wasn’t often a CEO melted down so publicly.

Calvin Moss had quit not long after and started his own firm that had become T&D’s top competitor in the DC area. At one point, he’d thanked JT for the impetus to find a way to control his own destiny. Byimpetus, he’d clearly meant discovering how volatile T&D’s CEO was, which had inspired him to make the leap.

Now, his and Alexandra’s history worked in their favor. Days would probably pass before Maryland State Police came knocking on his door, and when that happened, he’d be up at the cabin on Catoctin Mountain enjoying an unplugged Christmas holiday, just as he’d told his staff he would. No one expected him back in the city until New Year’s Eve, at which point he was selling the company that had consumed his life.

His assistant was tasked with arranging the New Year’s Eve closing celebration, to be held after the papers were signed, a big party to end not just the year but an era. JT would be free.

If police questioned his employees while he was away, no one would even think to suggest he was playing nanny to Lex’s kid. His discomfort with children was as legendary as the breakup.

Truth was, for about fifteen seconds, he considered hiring an actual nanny, but there was no time, and that was bound to give him away.

Shit.

There was no helping it. He was going to have to take care of the kid. He had a big box of Huggies, a mega-pack of diaper wipes, and a thing called Butt Paste in the back of his Lexus SUV next to a travel crib, a random assortment of toys, clothes, and a thousand other baby items he’d paid cash for in the middle of the night.

Then he’d gone to the grocery department and purchased ten days’ worth of food—the maximum amount of time he could spend at the cabin before returning to complete the sale. The idea that he might have Gemma Vargas in his care for that long terrified him. He feared for Gemma. For himself. But most of all for Lex.

In front of him, Lee’s garage door opened. He took a deep breath to brace himself and drove into the empty bay. They’d agreed he wouldn’t collect Gemma on the street where anyone could see. Weird enough that he was showing up at Lee’s house at one in the morning.

He shut off the engine, and Lee hit the button inside the garage to lower the door. Once it was down, JT climbed out of the SUV as Lee circled around to the driver’s side.

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