Tonight You're Mine (9 page)

The article went on to talk about the promising career of Ritchie Zand, lead singer of the rock group The Zanti Misfits, named for an episode of the science fiction television show
The Outer Limits
. Only a week before the killings, the band had been given a recording contract with Revel Music. Without Zand, however, the future of the group was unknown.

“The Zanti Misfits,” Carmen said softly. “Ritchie Zand was slime, but he had that fabulous voice. Remember it?”

Nicole shuddered. Oh, yes, she remembered him singing “Radio Ga-Ga” in the backseat while Magaro held a knife at her throat.

“Without him, the band fell apart,” Carmen continued, “but Bobby still talks about it constantly.”

“He does?” Nicole answered absently. Then her memory flashed. “Carmen, I completely forgot! Bobby was the drummer for The Zanti Misfits.”

“That's right. He's certain that if Ritchie hadn't been killed, they would have gone on to stardom. He would have been a millionaire, lusted after by hundreds of groupies, a household name. Instead he's plain old Bobby Vega, co-owner of a trinket shop on the River Walk.”

“I'd hardly call Vega's a trinket shop,” Nicole said. “But I cannot believe I forgot about Bobby being in The Zanti Misfits. I thought I remembered
everything
about the events, the people…”

“Apparently you don't. I'm not surprised that you forgot about Bobby, though. He wasn't mixed up in any of this.”

“No, of course he wasn't, but you were dating Bobby at the time. Didn't he talk to you about it?”

“Yes.”

“And he believed Zand was guilty, like I said?”

Carmen looked at her in surprise. “Yes, Nicole. He knew Zand was no angel. Why would you ask such a question?”

“Because I've always gotten the feeling Bobby doesn't like me.”

Carmen shrugged. “He
is
different around you. I've noticed it. Maybe it's because he's afraid you associate him with that awful time, that maybe you don't like
him
because he was friends with Ritchie Zand.”

“Good heavens, and I didn't even remember he was in the band. So much for crossed wires. Sometime Bobby and I will have to have a talk.” Nicole drew a deep breath, her mouth getting drier. “Now for the worst part.”

“Nicole, you're looking very pale. I think you should stop—”

But Nicole had already turned the page. She was right. This
was
the worst part. Here was the article about the arrest of Paul Dominic for the murders of Magaro and Zand. According to the article, the day after the discovery of the bodies, an anonymous tip had sent police to the home of Dominic. There they found a Smith & Wesson .44 magnum, registration numbers filed off, wrapped in a shirt belonging to Dominic. The shirt was smeared with AB Positive blood, the rarest kind, and that belonging to Ritchie Zand. Both the shirt and the gun were stuffed in a trash can. Ballistics verified the magnum as the murder weapon. In addition, Dominic had no alibi for the time of the murders. Finally, several people claimed that Dominic had threatened to get even with the men who allegedly had attacked Nicole Sloan, with whom he was romantically involved. Miss Sloan herself told police that Dominic said to her he would kill Magaro and Zand.

“I don't remember saying that,” Nicole said faintly. “But everyone says I did.”

“You were heavily medicated after hearing about the murders, Nicole.”

“That's right. You would have thought I'd have been glad Zand and Magaro were dead. Instead I got hysterical. The police insisted on questioning me. Dad was in Dallas on a trip. Mom was uncharacteristically flustered and called a doctor who sent me spinning with a bunch of tranquilizers.”

“I remember. You were probably babbling to the police things you would never have said if you'd had your wits about you. And after all, Paul did tell you he'd kill them.”

“What I said in such a medicated state should never have been quoted. I shouldn't have been questioned at that time. I can't believe what I said in that condition would have been admissible in court. Besides, Paul was just talking, just raging. He wasn't a killer, Carmen.”

Carmen looked compassionate but dubious. “You'd only known him a couple of months when all of this happened. How well do you really get to know someone in eight weeks?”

“I knew Paul,” Nicole maintained firmly.

“And I'll bet you thought you knew Roger, too. Yet after all those years of being married to him, you found out you didn't.” Carmen reached over and touched her hand. “I wonder if we really ever know
anybody
.”

She's right, Nicole thought. I believed I knew Roger. I believed I knew my father. But Paul…It was different with Paul.

Numbly she went to the next article, which described how Paul had been released on one million dollars bond. And finally she reached the last clipping, which announced that Paul Dominic had fled. A nationwide search was being conducted for him, but so far police had no leads.

“And he was never found,” Nicole murmured. “That handsome, wealthy, miraculously talented man just vanished off the face of the earth.”

Carmen shook her head. “No. Less than a year later he died in that car wreck. They found some of his possessions that had been thrown clear of the wreck, Nicole. And the body—”

“Was never positively identified,” Nicole interrupted.

Carmen sighed. “All right, let's say he
is
alive. What would you have to fear from him? He loved you. He
killed
for you.”

Nicole looked at her with anguished eyes. “I don't believe he killed them. I've never believed it. But he was arrested for their murders because of me. My rape gave him a motive. And what was one of the most damning pieces of evidence against him? My telling the police that he'd sworn to kill them.”

“Nicole, other people swore he'd said the same thing.”

“No. They said he threatened to ‘get even' with Magaro and Zand. It's not the same.” Tears filled her eyes. “Carmen, don't you see? I was the girl he loved, the girl people thought he killed for, and I was the one who supposedly told the police he planned to do it. I betrayed him. He had a fabulous life, and it was ruined because of
me
, because of what had happened to me, because of what I said to the police. If he's alive, he must hate me. Now, just seven months after I moved back to San Antonio, I think he's returned.” She looked at Carmen, tears streaming down her face. “What if he's come back because he wants revenge?”

2

Nine thirty-five. Nicole sat at the kitchen table staring at the clock as if she could turn back time to seven o'clock when Roger was supposed to have brought Shelley home.

Nicole had called his apartment three times, each time getting the answering machine and each time leaving an increasingly angry message. The child should be bathed and in bed by now. Instead, Nicole had no idea where she was, and she didn't know where else to call.

“What does Roger think he's doing?” she asked Jesse, who lay curled at her feet the way he always did when she was upset. “Is he purposely trying to make me worry? Is that more important to him than Shelley's welfare?”

Jesse looked up and tilted his head. “You're right, Jess,” she continued. “Roger may be a jerk, but he loves Shelley. He wouldn't abuse her just to hurt me.”

Talking with Kay and reading the old newspaper clippings had set her nerves on edge earlier in the day. Mrs. Loomis had stayed until she nearly finished the cake and Nicole was too nervous to wait out her visit, so she had never gotten a chance to talk to her mother about her father's nightmares or his behavior at home, which frustrated her even more. Now Roger was over two hours late with Shelley.

She drummed her fingers on the table, angry and increasingly concerned. Where could they be? Certainly Roger would be wearing down by now after spending a whole day with his energetic daughter. After all, he hadn't looked in top condition when he'd picked her up before noon.

A thought suddenly pierced her mind like a dagger. “What if they've been in an accident?” she asked aloud. “My God, it never occurred to me to call the hospitals!”

She jumped up and ran to the phone directory. She was looking up the number of the South Texas Medical Center when Jesse began barking and ran to the front window. Headlights flashed in the driveway.

Nicole didn't remember running out of the house. She even forgot to put on Jesse's leash. They both dashed across the front lawn and through the brilliant glare of the headlights, which Roger had on high beam, to see Shelley emerging from the back of the Explorer. “Shelley, where have you
been
?” Nicole yelled, not from anger but from fear and relief. “Didn't I tell you to be home at seven?”

The child's tired face crumpled. “I'm sorry,” she quavered, shying away from a blazing-eyed Nicole and bending to clutch Jesse who was jumping ecstatically at her legs. Roger clambered from the car. For a moment Nicole thought he was going to fall down before he regained his footing.

“Where the
hell
have you been?” Nicole raged.

“Lower your voice,” Roger said stiffly. “You're making a scene.”

“Answer my question!”

Roger hung on the door of the car for balance. “One of my friends from the department was having a dinner. We went.”

“So you decided to take Shelley along to a dinner party without telling me?”

“I told you I'd give her dinner.”

“Buying her dinner at a restaurant and taking her to a dinner party are two different things.”

“Oh, settle down, Nicole. Listen, the guy's wife is from Vietnam. Fabulous cook. I thought it would be a good experience for Shelley to taste some genuine Vietnamese food and talk with Mai—that's the wife—about her life in…well, whatever the hell the name of her village was.”

“I guess you also thought having Shelley watch you get drunk and then drive her home in that condition would be a good experience, too. You're not even wearing your glasses.”

“I am
not
drunk.” Roger overenunciated the way all drunks do when trying to prove they're sober. “I had a couple of drinks. So what?”

“You've had far more than a couple. But whatever, you could have
called
, Roger. It's nine forty-five, almost
three
hours after you were supposed to bring her home.”

“Sorry. I guess time slipped up on me.”

“Sorry isn't good enough, not after what you've put me through this evening.” Nicole's eyes flashed to the other side of the car. A young auburn-haired woman sat nervously in her seat. She didn't meet Nicole's eyes. “Lisa Mervin, I presume.”

“Yes. What about it?”

“Roger, you promised me today was for you and Shelley only.”

“I made no such promise.”

“Yes you
did
!” Nicole shouted.

“I did not. I am not going to keep Shelley away from the woman I intend to marry!”

“I didn't ask you to keep her away forever. Just for today. You sat right there in our former house and promised me when you knew you had every intention of meeting Lisa.”

Roger glared at her. “What's happened to you, Nicole? You've turned into a loudmouthed, carping, selfish bitch and I feel like slapping that sanctimonious face of yours!”

“Daddy!” Shelley exclaimed, fear edging her young voice.

Nicole stared at the man she'd once thought so stable, so caring. Her Rock of Gibraltar. The father of her beautiful child. Now here he stood, drunk, threatening to hit her, while his young girlfriend sat in the car watching. If she hadn't been so furious, she could have cried for him. “Roger, I don't know what has happened to
you
this past year, but it's a damned shame,” she said quietly. “You used to be a very likable person.”

“Likable,” he spat. “
Likable
, not
lovable
like Paul Dominic. You would never have married me if he hadn't been killed, no matter what he'd done.”

Nicole's spine went rigid at the mention of Paul's name, but she kept her voice steady. “Roger, please get back in your car and shut up. You're making a fool of yourself in front of your girlfriend.”

“Lisa
loves
me!”

“She must to tolerate this kind of behavior. But remember, she's young, she's beautiful, and there are plenty of fish in the sea. Good night, Roger.”

She wished Lisa would take over the wheel. She appeared more sober than Roger, and Nicole didn't want there to be a car accident. But she knew Roger. If he insisted he wasn't drunk and he would do the driving, he would brook no argument. Nicole felt almost sorry for Lisa. Almost.

Shelley ran past her into the house. Nicole watched Roger climb unsteadily back into the car and the headlights weave to the end of the street before he drove over a curb. Then Jesse drew her attention. He stood at the end of the driveway, his little legs stiff, growling low in his throat. Nicole followed his gaze.

On the opposite side of the street sat a big Doberman wearing a red collar. For a moment the significance of the dog's presence was overshadowed in her mind by her fear for Jesse. In spite of his small, battered body, Jesse had the heart of a lion. He didn't like other dogs on his turf, and no matter what their size, he would attack. The Doberman wasn't on Jesse's territory, but if it made a move…In a flash Nicole saw Jesse's throat ripped out by the powerful Doberman. Feeling slightly dizzy with the vision, Nicole called softly, “Jesse.” The dog did not respond. “Jess,
please
,” she said again. He wouldn't move.

Slowly she walked forward. She could feel the Doberman's eyes shifting between her and Jesse. She was probably being very foolish. Her mother would tell her she was being ridiculous to risk her own safety to try to save “that pitiful excuse for a dog.” But she'd never acted with what her mother considered good judgment.