The Dying Room by Debra Webb Read Free Book Online Page B

Maddie. Between Maddie and Lil’s college kids, Blake Junior and Alice, the baby had three sweet cousins and a loving aunt and uncle awaiting her arrival.
    Not to mention one exuberant great aunt. Jess had resisted accepting Wanda Newsom back into her life, but she’d come around eventually. Wanda was the only blood relative Jess and Lil had left other than their children. They had learned a great deal last year about the parents they’d lost when they were children. Eric Spears, the depraved serial killer who had been obsessed with Jess, had unearthed all the family secrets and used them to taunt her. She shivered at the vile memories. Obsession was just one of the many faces of evil she had discovered about Eric Spears.
    “You cold?” Dan hugged a protective arm around her.
    “I was just thinking about Mom and Dad.”
    “And Spears?”
    Jess hesitated and looked into Dan’s eyes. She nodded. “Sometimes he still haunts my dreams.”
    “He can’t ever hurt you or anyone else again.”
    He absolutely could not. Jess had put a bullet in his evil head. Since Spears had no family, the state had been responsible for his final arrangements. Jess had made sure he was cremated. She’d personally escorted his body and watched the entire cremation process. She had needed to see him burn. His ashes had been taken to the landfill and dumped like the garbage he had been.
    She brushed her teeth while Dan drew back the covers. She’d taken her shower and pulled on her gown after dinner. She’d learned as the weeks of the third trimester passed that she ran out of steam early. It was best not to assume she could work late and then manage to go through the usual nightly rituals.
    Dan helped her into bed, adjusting her pregnancy pillow, and tucking the covers around her. She watched as he rounded the big bed, pausing to give Bear a loving pat. Bear slept at the foot of the bed on a big, fluffy doggie pillow of his own.
    A smile broadened her lips as Dan climbed in on his side, and then turned off the lamp on the side table. A nightlight in the bathroom allowed for those middle of the night trips—another third trimester perk.
    “I’m thinking of putting Lieutenant Hayes in charge of SPU while I’m on maternity leave.” Jess snuggled closer to Dan and felt her whole body sigh in happiness.
    Though Hayes outranked him, Harper had been in charge while Jess and Dan were on their honeymoon. Hayes initial inability to fit in with the team had been the primary reason. He’d repeatedly ignored Jess’s orders. While they were on their honeymoon, Dan had admitted that he’d instructed Hayes to keep an eye on Jess, going a long way to explain the lieutenant’s un-team like behavior. To her surprise, Jess had laughed when Dan made the heartfelt confession. Dan had been so worried that she would be angry. She was pretty sure that was the reason he’d waited until they were on their honeymoon before fessing up. The truth was, Dan had been right to worry about her. She’d so desperately needed to stop Spears that she had taken far too many risks with her safety.
    “Hayes has certainly earned your respect.” Dan kissed her forehead. “He seems to work well with the team now. I think the surprise birthday party Harper and Wells planned for him says it all.”
    “I agree. Cook really likes him.” Hayes had gone above and beyond to help Cook prepare for his detective’s exam.
    “I think putting him in charge is the right decision.”
    “This is nice.”
    “Which part?” Dan kissed her again, his lips lingering at her temple. “The part where I offer to kiss every inch of you or the new shower gel scent that makes me think of those long, hot nights in Barbados on our honeymoon.”
    Jess giggled. “The part where I can have the chief of police’s ear any time I want it, like now in the middle of the night.”
    “Seriously?”
    She turned her face up to his. “Actually, I really like that offer of you kissing every inch of