SPIRIT OF CONSEQUENCE (A Spirit Walking Mystery Book 1) (37 page)

“Ah, you didn’t know your wife was pregnant when I killed her, did you? I’d followed her from the doctor’s office that day. She was so happy. She had lunch with Dexter. He never told you? Then later that night, I followed the three of you from the restaurant. I was going to kill you and Dexter, but decided it would be better to take a family member the way my brother had been taken from me.”

According to Bret, I was responsible for all of Dodge’s pain. Now he even knew about the child that he had lost. Bret was right; everything is connected and, eventually, every action has a consequence. Sometimes it just takes a little while to see it all tumble out.

I would not be responsible for Dodge’s death. Hadn’t I caused him enough pain? I took a deep breath, settling my pulse, nausea, and nerves. Then I jerked around and grabbed Bret’s hand that held the gun. I tried to force it into the air, but he pulled it back down. Then I felt someone’s arms around me. We all struggled for the gun. There was a pop and hot pain shot through my chest, my knees collapsed and I fell to the floor. As my mind drifted away, I heard another pop and, finally, darkness and nothingness.

Then I was floating, again. Bret lay sprawled on the desk with a bullet in his chest spewing blood all over my dad’s desk blotter. I was on the ground in front of the desk and Dodge knelt over me. He had his hands on my chest as I leaked blood all over Dad’s carpet. It was a good thing he wasn’t here or he would be yelling about all the mess.

The room filled with people. Uncle George and Jed came in. I could see Dodge screaming but I couldn’t hear him. Doc Myers came in and rushed over to Dodge. He took off his jacket and pushed it on my chest. He screamed, too.

Then I saw a white light, so soft and beautiful. A calm came over me and I felt wonderful. Then my body jerked and there was darkness again.

Epilogue

That was a year ago. I didn’t go toward the light. In fact, I never really had the opportunity. A paramedic brought in a defibrillator. When I slipped away, he shocked me back. I coded four times in the ambulance and each time they brought me back.

I woke up in the hospital five days later. No more floating around over my body. I had been grounded. Dodge and I were married three months later and now I’m pregnant with our first child. I couldn’t be happier.

Dexter and Jessica started their own security company. Dexter’s happy she’s no longer doing undercover work for the DEA, and she’s ecstatic she can keep a closer tab on his wandering eyes. I’m only one of their many clients. She’s also pregnant, so we commiserate over our daily aches and pains.

Uncle George and Sylvia married a month after Dodge and me. Jed’s the same. Last Christmas he brought his friend Matthew to dinner. It was a little tense in the beginning, but eventually, everyone got along and enjoyed being together.

Dodge refused to give up being a cop, so we’ve been back in San Francisco for the last few months. As a compromise he moved out of his tiny little apartment and we bought a top floor condominium in the ritziest building in the city.

Tonight I sit at an empty table that was set for dinner three hours ago. Dodge is late, again. Being a cop’s wife certainly sucks, sometimes.

A few minutes later, Dodge came running through the door. “I’m sorry honey. I got tied up.”

“It’s okay,” I struggled to stand. I was only seven months pregnant but big as a house. The doctor has been talking twins.

He came over and helped me up. Then he reached over, rubbed and kissed my belly.

“Hey,” I said. “What about me?”

He looked up from my belly. “Your mom’s calling.” He stood, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me close.

The kiss sent the same jolt and thrill through my body as it had on our first date after I got out of the hospital. Dodge took me to dinner at Dominic’s, a little Italian restaurant in Gold Camp. It was lovely. When we were ready to leave, the manager told Dodge that the meal was on the house. Dodge refused and insisted on paying. I didn’t just own a part of that restaurant, I owned it all. I had nodded at Dominic who let Dodge pay the bill, including a generous tip. Afterwards, we went dancing, since there wasn’t a movie theater in town.

Later that night, I took Dodge into my bed. No apprehension, no inhibitions, just love.

“What’s for dinner?” Dodge asked, interrupting my memories.

“It was Chinese food.” I pointed to the table.

“It was?”

“Yes, you took so long I ate my half and yours.”

He laughed. “Well, then it’s a good thing I had a hot dog a few hours ago.”

“Oh, yuck!” I shuttered. “I hope you’re not going to make our kid eat those.”

“He’s going to love them.”

“What if she doesn’t?” I said. We’d been arguing about the sex of the baby for the last two weeks. The doctor knew what it was but Dodge and I didn’t want to know, we wanted to find out when
she
came out.

Dodge rolled his eyes at me. “I’m exhausted, let’s go to bed.”

“Hey, you don’t have to ask me twice. These days, all I want to do is eat and sleep.”

He took my hand and led me into our bedroom. He slipped my clothes off and I got into bed. He took his own off and slid in next to me. I leaned on him.

“I love you, Samantha,” he whispered as his breathing evened out.

“I love you, too, Dodge,” I said as he fell asleep.

A few hours later, I was starving again. Being pregnant made me consume everything in sight, and half the time I called the take-out people and had more stuff brought in. I walked down to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took things out. I had eggs and cheese – I could make an omelet. I got out a bowl and broke one of the eggs into it. It’s amazing to me that after so many years of loving an Auto Chef, Dodge had convinced me that making your own food was fun. A good omelet needed some ham.

I went back to the refrigerator and looked for the ham.

I heard someone step behind me. I quickly turned around. Dodge was naked and holding his gun. It was pointed at me.

My pulse spiked and I screamed. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I heard a noise in the kitchen.”

“It’s me. It’s
always
me in the kitchen in the middle of the night.”

“There’s just one thing.” Dodge sighed and put his gun down on the kitchen counter.

“What?” I said, as I broke another egg into the bowl and started to mix it.

“Your body is still in our bed.”

“Oh no, not again!”