Page 35 of The Perfect Accomplice

“Yeah,” she said. “I guess I was having a bad dream.”

“That was obvious,” he said gently. “What about?”

Her first instinct was to keep it to herself, to brush it off as nothing. But Dr. Lemmon had talked to her about sharing her concerns with Ryan, and there didn't seem to be a more appropriate time than now. She sat up, propping the pillow behind her against the headboard.

“I was having a miscarriage. I couldn’t find you anywhere. I tried to get outside to find help but fell down on the porch. Then Kyle showed up and told me I deserved what was happening.”

Ryan stared at her open-mouthed, then leaned over and pulled her into an embrace.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I wish I could offer some easy fix that would make the pain of what happened to you just go away.”

Jessie rested her head on his shoulder, comforted by his words but not sure he totally got it. She was reluctant to say what was on her mind but again figured there might not be another, better time.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, not looking up at him. “I’m hoping that you can see why this whole ‘having kids’ thing is so challenging for me. Until I can work out how to deal with what happened to me, I can’t realistically consider what the future might hold. I know it’s not fair to ask you to be patient, especially when there’s no guarantee that I’ll eventually see things the way you do, but I feel like I have to look out for my mental and physical health first and foremost.”

“It’s not about ‘fair,’” he told her. “It’s about you doing what you need to do. I can’t pretend I don’t have strong feelings on the matter. But right now, they’re secondary to what you need. I get that, even if I sometimes forget.”

Jessie leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She could see the disappointment in his eyes and wished she could make it go away. But she knew there was no way to do that and still be true to herself. At least not right now.

“Is that why you woke me up?” she asked, “because you could tell I was having a nightmare?”

"Actually, no," he said, suddenly sitting upright. "We both got a text from Parker a few minutes ago. You didn't hear it. I know you're exhausted from yesterday, but I realized I didn't have a choice but to wake you up."

Jessie glanced over at her phone and saw that there was indeed a message on her phone.

“What is it?” she asked.

“There’s another victim,” he said. “She was just found.”

Jessie shot upright as well.

“Same M.O.?” she asked.

He nodded. “And in the Hollywood Hills,” he added.

She swung her legs out of bed and pushed herself upright.

“Give me five minutes to get ready. We can get the details on the way.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

By the time they arrived at the victim's house at 6:41 a.m., the sun was just starting to peek out from behind the San Gabriel mountains to the east.

They got the basics of the case from Parker, who didn’t know much more than them, on the way up.

“The victim’s name is Chloe Henshall,” she had said. “Thirty-five-years-old. Married to Sean Henshall, the founder and CEO of Henshall MetaTech. He’s the one who found her. He’s there now. The same sergeant from yesterday morning is supposedly handling the scene until you arrive.”

“Thanks, Captain,” Ryan said. “Can you ask Jamil and Beth to start a background check on both of them?”

“Jamil’s already at the station and Beth is on her way in,” Parker assured them. “I’m sure that by the time you leave the scene, they’ll have something for you.”

On the drive up, Jessie, who was at the wheel, took the curves at a reasonable speed and fought the desire to ask her husband if he was paying attention. When she parked across the street from the Henshall home, she looked over at him triumphantly.

“Safe and sound,” she said.

“Don’t you mean safe and slow?” he teased, then got out of the passenger seat before they could respond.

Jessie decided to let it go and got out too. They approached the house. Unlike the homes of the previous two victims, this one was on the upslope of a hill rather than dipping down into a canyon. But that didn’t make it any less impressive.

---