Nighttime Is My Time

95

When Sam Deegan got on the phone with Jake after Amy Sachs had explained to him that Jake thought he knew where Laura was being kept, he did not give Jake the chance to deliver the speech he had hastily prepared.

Jake wanted to say, "Mr. Deegan, notwithstanding the fact that you publicly disclaimed my assistance and made me the subject of ridicule, I am being generous enough to help you in your investigation, particularly since I am very concerned about Dr. Sheridan."

He got only as far as "Notwithstanding the fact" when Sam interrupted. "Listen, Jake. Jean Sheridan and Laura are in the hands of a homicidal maniac. Don't waste my time. Do you know where Laura is, or don't you?"

At that, Jake almost tripped over his own tongue as he rushed to tell what he knew.

"Somebody is staying in Laura's old house on Mountain Road, Mr. Deegan, even though it's supposed to be unoccupied. One of the honorees from the reunion has been buying food at the delicatessen down the street from the house almost every day. He just drove by. I think he was on his way to the house." Jake had barely spit out the name of the man before he heard the click of Sam's phone.

That sure got Deegan's attention, Jake thought as he waited on the street near Laura's old house. It wasn't more than six minutes later that Deegan and that other detective, Zarro, were screeching to a stop at the curb, followed by two patrol cars. They hadn't used the sirens to announce their arrival, which Jake had found disappointing, but he supposed they wanted to surprise the guy.

He had told Sam he was sure that whoever was in the house was in the corner front bedroom. Immediately after that, they broke down the front door and rushed in. Sam had yelled to him to stay outside.

Fat chance, Jake thought. He'd given them time to get to the bedroom, then followed, the camera slung over his shoulder. As he got to the top of the stairs, he heard a door slam. The other front bedroom, he thought. Somebody's in there.

Sam Deegan came out of the back corner bedroom, his gun drawn. "Get downstairs, Jake!" he ordered. "There's a killer hiding up here."

Jake pointed down the hall. "He's in there."

Sam and Zarro and a couple of the cops ran past him. Jake rushed to the door of the front bedroom, looked inside, and, after an instant of total shock at what he was seeing, focused his camera and began snapping pictures.

He took a photograph of Laura Wilcox. She was lying on the bed, her gown crumpled, her hair matted. A cop was supporting her head and holding a glass of water to her lips.

Jean Sheridan was sitting on the floor, holding in her arms a young woman dressed in the uniform of a West Point cadet. Jean was crying and whispering, "Lily, Lily, Lily," over and over again. At first Jake thought the girl was dead, but then he saw that she was beginning to stir.

Jake aimed his camera and was able to record for posterity the moment Lily opened her eyes and, for the first time since the day she was born, looked into the eyes of her birth mother.