Read Online The Darkness of Perfection by Michael Schneider - Free Book Online
Authors: Michael Schneider
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stop beside me. I finally was able to pull my phone out of my pocket, but dropped it as the blue-jean-encased legs beside me squatted down. I felt hands slide under my arms and legs as someone picked me up from the ground and held me against a hard chest.
“I’ve got you, Jayden. Just close your eyes and rest,” a deep voice commanded softly. “Grab her purse and don’t forget her phone there on the ground.” My body shifted as whoever was holding me began walking. “Jerome, call the pilot and tell him to be ready. I want to leave the minute we’re on board.”
I woke when I felt myself being shaken. My eyes darted frantically about, trying to make sense of my surroundings. I didn’t recognize the smooth tan walls or the leather furniture. The sofa shook beneath me again. I panicked, not understanding what was happening, and struggled to sit up, only to have someone pull me back down with a firm hand on my shoulder. My head rested against a muscular leg and the hand brushed against my face.
“Shh, you’re all right. It’s just a little turbulence,” a deep voice assured me. Something cold brushed my upper arm and then there was a small sting. “Go back to sleep. We’ll be home soon.”
I stared up into those cold blue eyes that haunted me, before my lids drooped again. I knew those eyes and heard the whisper leave my mouth in acknowledgement, as darkness overcame me again.
“Nicky?”
I stood beside the bed, gazing down at Jayden still sleeping soundly. She was on her back with one arm curled above her head on the pillow, the cuff attaching her wrist to the headboard assuring me it was safe to leave her alone for a while. The drugs in her system were finally wearing off and she’d woken briefly a couple of times before slipping under again. I brushed my fingers along her brow and stroked her cheek as I leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her slightly parted lips.
We’d arrived home just after four in the morning yesterday. The flight took longer than it normally would have since we were diverted by the storm system still causing trouble in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. The weather really had helped to create the perfect opportunity to stage her accident. Flash floods and tornado warnings, including the heavy rains that day, helped everything fall neatly into place.
I knew what the authorities would hypothesize: Young and inexperienced driver, possibly impaired after last being seen at a bar, was driving too fast on the wet roads, hydroplaned, lost control on the bridge, crashed through the guardrail, and went into the swollen, rushing water of the river below. Her car was swept downriver, mangled from the initial crash and debris already buffeting in the river.
She was either aware of her dilemma, broke out a window to escape, and drowned trying to make it to the distant shore, or drowned inside the car and was sucked out through the broken window. Either way, her body was not in the car and would never be recovered. They’d search the banks and drag the river for days, possibly even a couple of weeks, before closing the case and chalking it up to another unfortunate death blamed on the storm.
The news media had given me the idea when they reported on the storm damage that had already caused seven deaths, four in Oklahoma and three in Kansas, all blamed on the storm system. It was extremely fortunate, for me, that one of the drowning deaths in Kansas was in the next city connected by the same river. That idiot had driven through a low-water crossing covered in only a foot of water.
Anyone who grew up around water knew the dangers, and how fast even a foot could carry away a vehicle. Jayden’s mother would know this danger, having grown up in Texas where flash flooding was a common occurrence. Fall and spring storms were the worst as temperature changes occurred.
Jayden had lived in Colorado for the past twelve years and could probably outmaneuver me in snow or ice, but would have no
“I’ve got you, Jayden. Just close your eyes and rest,” a deep voice commanded softly. “Grab her purse and don’t forget her phone there on the ground.” My body shifted as whoever was holding me began walking. “Jerome, call the pilot and tell him to be ready. I want to leave the minute we’re on board.”
I woke when I felt myself being shaken. My eyes darted frantically about, trying to make sense of my surroundings. I didn’t recognize the smooth tan walls or the leather furniture. The sofa shook beneath me again. I panicked, not understanding what was happening, and struggled to sit up, only to have someone pull me back down with a firm hand on my shoulder. My head rested against a muscular leg and the hand brushed against my face.
“Shh, you’re all right. It’s just a little turbulence,” a deep voice assured me. Something cold brushed my upper arm and then there was a small sting. “Go back to sleep. We’ll be home soon.”
I stared up into those cold blue eyes that haunted me, before my lids drooped again. I knew those eyes and heard the whisper leave my mouth in acknowledgement, as darkness overcame me again.
“Nicky?”
I stood beside the bed, gazing down at Jayden still sleeping soundly. She was on her back with one arm curled above her head on the pillow, the cuff attaching her wrist to the headboard assuring me it was safe to leave her alone for a while. The drugs in her system were finally wearing off and she’d woken briefly a couple of times before slipping under again. I brushed my fingers along her brow and stroked her cheek as I leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her slightly parted lips.
We’d arrived home just after four in the morning yesterday. The flight took longer than it normally would have since we were diverted by the storm system still causing trouble in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. The weather really had helped to create the perfect opportunity to stage her accident. Flash floods and tornado warnings, including the heavy rains that day, helped everything fall neatly into place.
I knew what the authorities would hypothesize: Young and inexperienced driver, possibly impaired after last being seen at a bar, was driving too fast on the wet roads, hydroplaned, lost control on the bridge, crashed through the guardrail, and went into the swollen, rushing water of the river below. Her car was swept downriver, mangled from the initial crash and debris already buffeting in the river.
She was either aware of her dilemma, broke out a window to escape, and drowned trying to make it to the distant shore, or drowned inside the car and was sucked out through the broken window. Either way, her body was not in the car and would never be recovered. They’d search the banks and drag the river for days, possibly even a couple of weeks, before closing the case and chalking it up to another unfortunate death blamed on the storm.
The news media had given me the idea when they reported on the storm damage that had already caused seven deaths, four in Oklahoma and three in Kansas, all blamed on the storm system. It was extremely fortunate, for me, that one of the drowning deaths in Kansas was in the next city connected by the same river. That idiot had driven through a low-water crossing covered in only a foot of water.
Anyone who grew up around water knew the dangers, and how fast even a foot could carry away a vehicle. Jayden’s mother would know this danger, having grown up in Texas where flash flooding was a common occurrence. Fall and spring storms were the worst as temperature changes occurred.
Jayden had lived in Colorado for the past twelve years and could probably outmaneuver me in snow or ice, but would have no
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