Heaven's Fire (40 page)

Angela planned to die. Planning for
the inevitable
, Jake understood. Planning
to make it
happen
,
though,
was a
whole
'nother other thing.

"When Eagleton said a body had been found," Simon was saying, "Angela knew it was Ray's and that everyone would know she killed him."

"I thought she had killed you, too."

"She could have," Simon said. "If you hadn't yelled so I raised my arm and started to turn away, the blow alone might have killed me."

"She must have been one heck of a softball player," Jake said.

They sat silent for awhile.

"I have something to tell you," Simon said finally.

Jake put her hand on his arm. "I already know about you and Angela."

He looked surprised. "How could you know that?"

"Dianne told me."

"My ex-wife?" He'd moved past surprised, all the way to shocked, with a smidgeon of "suspicious" tossed in. "When did you talk to her?"

"She came here earlier tonight, or make that last night. She said she wanted to talk to me about liability for the microwave van, but..." Jake shrugged.

"But she just happened to mention I'd had an affair?"

"I don't honestly think she came to tell me that, she just was curious about me. The other thing just slipped out when Angela didn't show up for her interview." Jake grinned at Simon. "She told me where I might look."

"I can imagine." He reached out and took her hand, turning it over to trace his fingers in the palm. "It was a stupid thing to do, and it was wrong. Dianne had already moved out, but technically I was still married and, more than technically, Angela was."

"How did it end?" It might be none of Jakes' business, but she was an information-gatherer by trade.

"Dianne found Angela at the house, which gave me the excuse I needed to end it." He shrugged. "Let's face it. Angela didn't like the smell of smoke, didn't like Irish, and didn't like the house."

"Bitch," Jake said. "Wanna go home?"

"Yeah."

*****

Simon had just pulled the Explorer behind Jake's Jaguar in the driveway when his cell phone rang. "Aamot.
"

"Hi Tex, you coming in?"

What was Kathy doing in the office before six a.m.? He asked her.

"I figured it was going to be one of those days, so I thought I'd best get a jump on it."

"Well,
I
thought I'd get a couple of hours of sleep before I came in." Simon yawned.

"Okay, but I have Cruise's complete report on my desk."

"On Firenze's financial records? What's the bottom line?"

"Is that an accountant joke? It's about as funny as an accountant joke."

Simon laughed. "Actually, it's a Simon's-too-tired-to-know-he's-clever joke." He hesitated. "How are you doing, Kath?"

"Fine. Now do you want to know what Cruise found?"

"Yes, please." Jake already was waiting at the door.

"Then get your ass in here." And Kathy hung up.

Aamot sighed. Who needed a wife or a mother or even a wicked stepmother? He had Kathy.

He went over to Jake. "I have to go to the office. Cruise found something in Firenze's books."

"Something else?" Jake asked, looking eager.

"I guess," Simon rubbed his stubbly chin, sorry to be leaving her after everything they'd been through. "You'll be okay?" he asked her.

She nodded. "We need to stop asking each other that."

Simon laughed and kissed her. "I'll report back later, Chief," he said, and returned to his truck.

*****

Jake put the key in the door as Simon drove off. Then she pulled it out again. She hated to admit it, but the only reason going home sounded good, was because Simon was going to be there. Even as tired as she was, she wouldn't be able to sleep. She was afraid of who would be in her dreams, and in how many pieces.

So now what? Where does one go at six in the morning if not home?

Not the station. There would be another producer on duty, so Jake would only be in the way there. She’d done what she could, anyway, even talked Luis down when he came back. The kid had really been shook up by what he’d witnessed.

Jake felt badly for him, but she had to admit the experience had been a valuable lesson, sort of a videographer‘s
"
Scared Straight.
"
She didn’t expect to have any more trouble from him and LB's Hot Video. At least until he'd paid for the camera he‘d dropped.

Whether it was orders from the top--in the person of Gwen-- or human decency on the part of the news staff, no one at the station had pumped Jake for information or asked for an interview. Jake figured that would last about twelve hours, so she'd best make the most of them. What she could really use now was a nice relaxing swim, but her swims weren‘t exactly relaxing any longer.

She thought about that. Yes, Jenson might be there and no, she didn't want to be stupid and put herself in danger.

On the other hand, was Jake going to let the Croc decide her schedule?

Was she going to give up something she loved, just because he threatened her?

Was she going to let him scare her?

Heck, yes. She unlocked the door, went in the house and made a phone call. Then she got in her car and drove to the Y.

It was a little after six when she arrived, but the pool was open. And Doug, bless him, was the lone swimmer.

She sat on the edge of the pool in the lane next to his and waited for him to reach her.

He stopped and stripped off his goggles. "You are so lucky I was already up and planning to come here anyway."

"Thank you."

Doug grinned. "You know I would have leapt out of bed to come and defend you anyway, right?"

"Of course," Jake said donning her cap. "But you know that I really appreciate it, also right?"

"I do. This guy really has you spooked, huh?"

"You bet. Last night he came to the production van, and--" She glanced toward the whirlpool off to the side in a glassed-in area. "Oh, shoot."

"What?" Doug said, looking around.

"He's in there," Jake hissed. "You can't see him unless he pops his head up to look out. Which he just did. Shoot, shoot, shoot."

"So what are you going to do? Run away?"

Well, yeah. "Well, no, of course not." Jake pulled her cap off. "I think...I'm going, yes, I'm going to talk to him. That's what a guy would do, right? I mean you would confront someone who was bothering you. I should do that, too, right? I mean, find out what his problem is?"

Jenson was now standing up and looking over.

"I've never heard you incoherent before," Doug observed. "It sounds sort of...stupid."

Jake got hold of herself. After all, she hadn't hesitated to confront Angela last night. She stood up, vowing to leave this one alive, at least.

"I'm going to go talk to the guy," she told Doug. "You watch in case he tries to drown me." Or me, him, she thought.

"Want me to come with you?"

Jake shook her head. "No, I think that'll put him on the defensive. I don't want him to get embarrassed and do something to save face."

"Like drown me?" Doug asked. "I don't want that either. I'll stay right here." He hiked himself up on the deck to watch, as Jake padded over to the whirlpool area and opened the glass door.

Jenson stood up and all the opening lines Jake had formulated evaporated. "Just what in the heck are you looking at?" she snapped.

Jenson flushed. "Listen, I am really, really sorry." He started to wade across the whirlpool toward her.

"You said that before. Just stay where you are."

Jenson held up his hands and stopped. "I know I must have scared you last night, showing up at your truck, but I wanted to talk to you. I tried to call, but kept losing my nerve. I just wanted to apologize, and I thought it might be easier when no one else was around."

So maybe the hang-ups hadn't been all Angela, as Simon had thought. That made sense, since they'd begun before the night of the fire.

Jenson nodded toward Doug, who was still watching. "You have a lot of friends here, and I know I've been acting odd. I just needed to explain."

Jake glanced back at Doug and thought of Cindy and some of the other people who swam here every day. Gosh, she really did have a lot of friends. Before she lapsed into full Sally-Field mode, though, she asked, "So what do you want to explain?

"Okay, if I sit on the edge?" he asked, his hands still up in the air.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead." She sat, too, but at the other end of the whirlpool.

Jenson looked down at the water and then off across the pool. "My wife had breast cancer surgery two days ago."

Jake thought about the woman she’d seen during Neal‘s interview with the family. Young, blonde, pretty, with a couple of little kids. What a shame she had to go through it, but why was Jenson telling Jake this? What was she, the mastectomy poster child?

Then again, since she'd opted to go through treatment practically on-air, maybe she had volunteered for the position.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "How's she doing?"

He looked at her. "She's doing really good, thanks."

"Lumpectomy or mastectomy?"

"
Mastectomy. Double.
"

They were both quiet. A moment of silence for the fallen breasts, Jake thought.

"
It was serious,
"
Jenson continued,
"
still is.
"
He looked down.
"
Julia was scared for her life, and I was, too. Still am, but...
"

"
But you were freaked out by the thought of your wife’s breasts being lopped off,
"
Jake finished.

"
Yes,
"
Jenson said, looking up at her.
"
I know that’s stupid, that it’s...
"

"
Natural,
"
Jake said.
"
That’s what it is: natural. Both for you and for her.
"

"
I don’t think it bothered her, really. In fact, she decided against reconstruction.
"

Aha.
"
Like me, huh?
"

"
Yes. She had seen the coverage of your surgery and recovery, and knows people who have had reconstructive surgery, and had to go back a couple of times to get it right. She wanted one surgery and to be done with it. Like you.

"
Every time I looked at you here,
"
Jenson continued,
"
I saw Julia. It made me angry at fate or God, or whatever you want to call it, for doing this to her. And to be honest,
"
he looked Jake in the eye finally,
"
it made me angry at you for having influence over her, when I didn't. Even worse, I was angry at Julia.
"

"
For not caring if she had breasts, or for getting sick in the first place?
"

"
Both.
"

They were quiet again.

Jenson stood up.
"
After the surgery, I realized what a jerk I’d been.
"

"
I’m sure reconstruction has come a long way in the last couple of years,
"
Jake said, standing up, too.
"
Maybe she’ll change her mind at some point.
"

Jenson reached across and shook her hand.
"
Maybe. That’s her decision. As far as I’m concerned, her life is the important thing. All the rest is window-dressing.
"

*****

"I'm not saying that Julia Jenson made the right or the wrong decision," Jake said, "but it scares me that someone would base a medical decision on what I did."

They were sitting on the couch, Jake having just returned from swimming and Simon from the office. Jake had her bare feet tucked underneath her and was drinking a glass of wine.

It was seven-thirty a.m.

Simon didn't understand why someone as logical as Jake would agree to go through cancer treatment with a camera following her, and then be surprised that people paid attention. He said as much. Gently.

She set her glass down. "I was a reporter who had cancer, and the only way I could make sense of that in my own head was to think of it as an assignment. To be the best damned cancer patient there ever was."

"
And were you?
"
He took her hand and rubbed her palm with his thumb.