Predator

Jo frowned, concerned as much by the exhaustion she could hear in her old boss’s voice as the news he was bringing her: ‘How do you mean?’

‘Well, I guess I’m going to have to take a step back, away from the firm, so I can spend more time with Betty, whatever time she has left …’

‘Oh, Ronnie, that’s such a beautiful thing to do,’ said Jo, ‘putting Betty first like that. God, I think you’ve got me shedding a tear!’

She reached for a face towel and dabbed it against her eyes as Bunter said, ‘I guess that means that Brad will be taking over.’

Jo forgot all about her tears as she absorbed the thought of such a radical, unexpected changing of the guard. ‘OK-ay-ay …’

‘You sound kinda sceptical about that idea.’

‘No, not at all, Brad’s a great attorney.’

‘But he’s not the right person, I get it. And I don’t necessarily disagree. Maybe I should make someone else senior partner …’

‘But, Ronnie, you can’t do that. I mean, this is a family business. Your daddy started it. You took it on. If Brad didn’t take over from you, that’s basically telling everyone in Texas law that you don’t think your boy is any good. Brad would never forgive you till the day he died. You’d lose him as a son. He has to get the job.’

‘Yeah, you’re right,’ said Bunter without much enthusiasm. ‘Maybe I’m just being old-fashioned. I guess the way Brad practises law is more in tune with the way the whole world is these days.’

‘I guess.’

‘But, Jo, there’s something else I have to tell you, and you’re not going to like it.’

Jo was struck by an icy feeling of dread as she realized that whatever Bunter was about to tell her was the real reason he had called now, rather than waiting for a more sociable time of day. ‘Go ahead …’ she said.

‘Johnny Congo’s escaped. I just saw it on the TV news. Someone – they don’t know who just yet – ambushed the convoy taking him to Huntsville for the execution.’

‘Oh God, no …’ Jo leaned her back against the wall and slid slowly down till she came to rest on the marble tiles of the bathroom floor. She could hear the sound of footsteps outside the bathroom. Hector must have woken up. Jo held her head in one hand, her eyes screwed shut as she lowered her voice and asked, ‘What happened? Does anyone know where he is right now?’

‘No, they don’t even know for sure that he’s alive. But in the absence of a body, we have to assume he is.’

Jo said nothing. Bunter broke the silence. ‘I’m so sorry, Jo, I know what a shock this must be to you.’

Her voice was cracking as she said, ‘It’s my fault.’

‘No, don’t you go thinking that. How could you possibly be to blame for what happened today?’

‘Because it wouldn’t have happened if I’d let Heck kill Johnny, when he had the chance. He wanted to do it, but I said no.’

‘Of course you did. You believe in the rule of law, as you should.’

‘But what good is the rule of law if people like Johnny Congo can defy it, and get away with their crimes?’ Jo asked, feeling as though all her most cherished beliefs suddenly counted for nothing. ‘I was the one who wanted to play by the rules and now that monster is out there …’

‘Listen, Hector’s beaten Congo once, he can do it again. He’d never blame you, either. He’s a better man than that.’

‘He’d never blame me out loud, no. But deep down inside, he’ll know that he was right, and that Catherine Cayla’s in jeopardy because I wouldn’t let him trust his own instincts.’

Jo was crying again now. She cursed under her breath, looked around for something to wipe her face and pulled some toilet paper from the roll as she heard Bunter saying, ‘Listen, Jo, I know how tough it must be for you right now, but sweetheart, take some advice from an old man who’s seen a lot in his time. Don’t rush into anything. Take your time to process what I’ve just told you, and give Hector time to do the same thing too. Believe me, things’ll work out better that way. You’ll be a lot stronger facing up to this as a couple than as two individuals.’

Jo shook her head, as if Bunter could see her. ‘No, I can’t … I have to leave. Being with Heck is like living beneath a volcano. When the volcano’s quiet and the sun’s shining, life is wonderful. But you know that the volcano’s going to erupt some day, and when it does, your whole world will be destroyed. I thought I could deal with that, but now Congo’s free and I feel so scared … I can’t live like that any more.’

At the very moment she was talking about leaving Cross, the one thing Jo suddenly wanted more than anything else in the world was to feel his arms around her and to lean her head against his chest. There was a pause before Bunter said, ‘Well, if that’s really how you feel, you’d better come on back to the firm. If you and Heck are meant to be together, you’ll find your way to each other again. But until you do, come back to Houston, back to the office. It’ll be good for you, and good for us too.’

‘But I already quit.’

‘Did you? I don’t recall getting a formal letter of resignation from you. And I damn sure never fired you.’

‘I guess not,’ Jo admitted. ‘But if you’re not going to be there, what am I going to do?’

She got up and examined herself in the mirror again. Her complexion still looked just as pale as it had before and her hair was a mess, but now she had red, watery eyes as well. She resolved that she wasn’t going to leave the bathroom until she’d made herself look a hell of a lot more presentable. If she was going to leave Hector, she didn’t want him to remember her looking anything at all like this.

‘Be my eyes and ears,’ Bunter was saying. ‘The doc wants me to stay away as much as I can, but that’s going to be impossible unless I know for sure what’s going on.’

‘You want me to spy for you? I can’t see that being too popular.’

‘No, I don’t want you to spy for me. But you can represent me, like an ambassador, making my views known, and at the same time relaying back other people’s opinions to me. And of course, you can continue your work as a legal assistant. You’re damn good at the job, Jo. Folks’ll be glad to have you around.’

‘Thanks, Ronnie, I really appreciate that. And I guess I’m going to hold you to it, too. I’m coming home to Houston. I wish more than anything else in the world that I weren’t. But I’ve got to leave Hector …’ She gave a deep, despairing sigh. ‘And now I’ve got to find a way to tell him.’

Their lovemaking that night had been especially intense and satisfying for both Hector and Jo Stanley. Afterwards he fell into such a deep and dreamless sleep that he did not hear Jo leave the bed or the bedroom. When he woke again he heard her in her bathroom. He checked the bedside clock and found the time was not yet five in the morning. He roused himself and went through to his own bathroom.

On his way back he paused by her closed door and heard her busy on the telephone. He smiled and thought that she was probably calling her mother in Abilene. Sometimes he wondered what they still had to talk about after phoning each other almost every night. He returned to the bed and soon drifted off into sleep once more.

When he woke again it was seven o’clock and Jo was sequestered in her dressing room. Hector slipped on his dressing gown and went through to the nursery. He returned to the bed with Catherine in his arms wearing a fresh nappy and clutching her morning bottle. He propped himself on the pillows and cradled Catherine in his lap.

He studied her face as she drank. It seemed to him that she was growing more beautiful and more like her dead mother Hazel with every passing day.

At last he heard the door to Jo’s dressing room open. As he looked up the smile melted from his face. Jo was fully dressed and she carried her small travelling valise. Her expression was sombre.

‘Where are you going?’ he asked, but she ignored the question.

‘Johnny Congo has escaped from prison,’ she said. Hector felt the ice forming around his heart.

He shook his head in denial. ‘How do you know this?’ he whispered.

‘Ronnie Bunter told me. I have been on the phone with him half the night, discussing it.’ She broke off to cough and clear her throat, and then she looked up at him again and her eyes were swimming with misery. She went on, ‘You will blame me for this, won’t you, Hector?’

He shook his head, trying to find the words to deny it.

‘You will go after Johnny Congo again,’ she said with quiet certainty.

‘Do I have any choice?’ he asked, but the question was rhetorical.

‘I have to leave you,’ Jo said.

‘If you truly love me you will stay.’

‘No. Because I truly love you I must go.’