“Uh, no.” Judy faced him, stricken. Her fair skin flushed. Tears filled her eyes. “I, um, just noticed by your … wrist mala.”
Mary slid her hand to her phone to call 911. Judy was blowing their cover, too emotional to keep it together. She had lost the man she loved and was looking into the face of his killer.
“Judy?” Roger frowned. “What’s upsetting you?”
Judy tried to speak, but her hand flew to her trembling lips. She burst into tears. “Roger?” she blurted out, horrified. “Did you kill John?”
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
“What?” Roger recoiled, appalled. “Why would you ask me that? What a question!”
“Roger … I can’t believe … you would!” Judy sobbed, her hand to her mouth, trying not to break down completely. “I admired you … you’re so cool … and smart … why did you … why would you?”
Meanwhile, Roger was so focused on Judy that Mary could sneak her phone onto her lap and touch the screen to wake it up.
“I didn’t, of course I didn’t!” Roger stepped toward Judy, as she kept edging away. “Why would you say such a thing?”
Mary swiped her phone, and it asked for a passcode.
“Your wrist mala … we saw it … on the new … video.”
“There’s a video?” Roger asked, his tone changing so dramatically that it was as if his voice emanated from another man.
Judy nodded, her hand over her mouth. Her agonized eyes shifted to Mary, and Roger whirled around just in time to catch Mary keying in her passcode. Her mouth went dry.
“Give me that phone!” Roger flew at Mary, grabbing the phone from her hand.
Mary scrambled away from him, her heart beating hard. Her hand flew protectively to her belly. She tried to think of what to do. There was nothing she could use for a weapon. If she screamed, help would come sooner or later, but he’d have time to kill one of them. She had to reason with him, stall him until she thought of something better
“Mary, were you calling the police? On me?” Roger stood over the bed, breathing hard. The look in his eyes was pure outrage. “What a terrible mistake! How could you make such a terrible mistake?”
“Roger, you scared me, that’s all.” Mary struggled to stay in control. “But I won’t call again. I won’t tell anybody. You probably didn’t mean to kill him.”
“Of course I didn’t!” Roger shouted back, losing control. “I didn’t mean to! It’s not like I planned it! But I just got so sick of it, all of a sudden! All of you lawyers, you think you’re so damn smart! But you make mistake after mistake! I get so sick of cleaning up after your mistakes! I’ve had a career of it, a lifetime of it! Can you imagine what it’s like to be a legal malpractice lawyer? The clients are the worst! They’re all lawyers!”
“I can imagine,” Mary said, calmly. She held her hand out, keeping him back. He looked down at Mary as if he weren’t really seeing her, his fury driving him. Judy sobbed against the dresser, watching them in horror.
“That’s why I didn’t want to take your case!” Roger shouted down at Mary, prone on the far side of the bed. “I knew you wouldn’t listen! And John wouldn’t listen, either! He was going to ruin everything! I only went there that night to tell him not to quit, to come back to your firm! But no, he wouldn’t listen!”
“I did listen to you, Roger.” Mary was trying to placate him. Her heart was beating out of her chest. He had to be deciding what to do with her and Judy. He couldn’t kill them both at once. He needed an exit strategy. Mary was trying to give him one. “Roger, I listened to you, and that’s why we stayed the course on our case.”
“You didn’t want to listen to me! You fought me every step of the way!”
“But I came around, in the end,” Mary said quickly. “You showed me the way. You changed my mind. Remember, what I said to you before the interview with Vanessa? I told you, ‘I learned from the master,’ and I did. You. And Judy listened to you too. We listen to you. We admire you.”
“I know what I’m doing! Lawyers come to me because I know what I’m doing! If they knew what they were doing, they wouldn’t be getting sued for malpractice, now would they?” Roger laughed, without mirth. “You would think that would be a wake-up call, wouldn’t you? You would think that would cause a lawyer to question his judgment, wouldn’t you? You would think that would make a lawyer learn to take direction from somebody who knows better, wouldn’t you? Lawyers hire me when they’re in trouble, but they don’t listen to a word I say!”
“You’re absolutely right, they should listen to you—”
“If John quit the firm, we would’ve lost that case! The press never would’ve let it go! It was damning! And I never lose! So I tried to get him to come back! He wouldn’t listen!”
“I totally understand, Roger.” Mary saw the fury burning in Roger’s eyes, out of control. Her plan wasn’t working. He was getting more worked up, not less. He had killed John in a murderous rage like this. Fear bolted through her body. She fought the panic tightening her chest.
“I told him he was making a mistake!” Roger started breathing harder, shaking his head. “I said, ‘just listen to me,’ but he wouldn’t change his mind! He told me to get out! He tried to throw me out! Me! He thought he knew, but he didn’t! He was just a kid! And he wasn’t half as smart as he thought! As you all thought—”
“Stop talking about him!” Judy shouted suddenly, sobbing, and in the next moment she was flying across the room at Roger.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Mary screamed, terrified, as Judy raced toward Roger in blind hatred.
Roger backhanded Judy, connecting with her cheek, then pivoted and punched her hard in the forehead.
“Judy!” Mary screamed, watching in horror as Judy staggered backwards from the impact, then fell against the dresser, banging her head. Judy collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
Roger whirled around, coming after Mary. She scrambled to the other side of the bed, ran out the door, and reached the hallway. Her mouth had gone bone-dry. Adrenaline coursed throughout her body. She had to get help.
Roger overtook her in the hallway, pulling her back by the hair. She cried out in pain. Her hair felt like it was coming out at the root. She tried to free herself, hitting Roger’s arms. Her breath went ragged with fear and exertion. She heard panting and realized it was her. Roger was going to kill her and the baby. He’d lost control.
“Help!” Mary screamed, but Roger clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her. Tears of fright came to her eyes. Her heart hammered like a piston. She bit down hard, grinding the flesh of his palm between her front teeth. She tasted metallic in her mouth. She had drawn blood.
“Bitch!” Roger sprang away, startled and in pain.
Mary raced forward toward the stairway, praying she wouldn’t fall. She had to live. She had to survive for the baby. She grabbed the banister just as Roger caught her, yanking hard on her shoulder and her silk T-shirt, trying to pull her back into the bedroom.
Mary held on to the banister for dear life. Her shirt collar pulled tight against her throat, cutting off her air. She writhed this way and that, trying to get him off, but she couldn’t. Roger grabbed her shoulders again and tried to pull her back. She clung to the banister with both hands, squeezing the wood as hard as she could. Her fingers kept slipping. Her arms ached. Her shoulders felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets. She looked wildly around for something to use as a weapon.
She spotted a framed photo of her and Anthony hanging on the wall, to the left. She let go of the banister and lunged for the picture, tearing it off the wall. Roger grabbed her and tried to get her in his arms, but she whirled around and whacked him in the face with the photo.