CHAPTER TEN

"How, Mac?" Stella paced his office. "How could he have..."

Mac shook his head. "I don't know, Stella," he admitted. "This is a new one for me."

"Do you think...I mean..." She couldn't finish the sentence. Because deep down, they both knew that Jack Lewis was an abusive husband and father...and they had been unable to keep him from another innocent victim.

Mac's phone rang. "Taylor," he said tonelessly.

"Mac, it's Lindsay," Lindsay Monroe's voice rang out. "Balent's not our guy. He did say Mary appeared to be abused, though. Always wore long sleeves to work...Mac...Lewis he's gotta be our guy. Ben said he tried to talk Mary into leaving Jack, but she wouldn't do it. Maybe this time she tried and he killed her for it."

"I've got some bad news, Linds," Mac said. "Jack Lewis's lawyer managed to get him out of custody and able to take Ryan home."

"Mac! How could this happen?" Lindsay demanded from the line.

Before Mac could explain again that he didn't have any idea, the phone lit up on another line. "Lindsay, get back here ASAP." With that, he hung up and hit the button for line 2. "Taylor," he growled, a little forcefully than usual.

"Mr. Taylor...my name is Lucille Lewis," the scratchy voice came from the other end of the line. "Jack Lewis is my son."

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Lewis?" Mac asked.

"I need to report my son," her sad voice said. "I can't protect him anymore. Jack was up here with us, but not over the time he says he was. The day Mary died...he was in New York."

Mac looked up at Stella in alarm. Stella already had her phone out and was dialing Danny.

"Mary was going to leave him. She was tired of the abuse. Jack found out...he had come up to visit us after losing his job again...but then he called home and Mary said she was leaving him. He left right after he hung up. He was only going to scare her, get her to stay...but he got out of hand."

"Flack!" Danny sprinted downstairs into the precinct, where Flack stood up from his desk, catching his best friend's eye. "Flack, Lewis is out guy. We gotta find him, now."

"Jack couldn't find Ryan. He was going to take him with him, but he didn't know where he was. He came upstate with us, told us what happened. His father lied when the police called to talk to us. He used to be an attorney; he's retired now. Jack can't do any wrong in his eyes."

Adam and Kendall were headed for some coffee when they passed Mac's office. Adam stopped when he heard Ryan's name. His eyes widened as he heard the confession from Jack's mother. Without a word, he turned and sprinted for the stairs. His mind flashed backwards in time.

Phoenix

"Adam, honey, go pack your suitcase."

Seventeen-year-old Adam Ross looked up in confusion from his advanced physics coursework from the University of Arizona. "Mom?"

His mother's black eye was fading. Neither one of the two had ever said anything. Adam wanted to, but his mother begged him not to. Against his better judgment, Adam never had. Twelve years. Twelve years they'd put up with Michael Ross's abuse. Adam wanted nothing more than to hit him back. But he would never do it.

She was standing in the doorway, flushed. "Just go. Pack your backpack, grab your schoolwork. We're leaving."

He didn't argue. He had no idea what'd brought the change in his mother's thinking, but he welcomed it wholeheartedly. Sprinting up the stairs, he threw some clothes and his books into his backpack. As he zipped it shut, he heard the front screen door slam open, and he froze dead in his tracks.

Michael Ross was home.

Lucille Lewis's voice was grim. "I won't let him get away with it this time. I've spent too long looking the other way."

Adam skidded into the garage, where Flack and Danny had just started up Flack's car. Adam stood right in front of them and locked eyes with the two detectives.

Flack rolled down the window. "What the hell are you waiting for, huh? Get the hell in the car!"

"Mrs. Lewis, I have to ask you a question, it may seem a little obscure," Mac began. "Do you own a cat?"

"She's a longhaired tabby."

"What color?"

"Black and gray."

Bingo. "Call Lindsay, have her meet Flack and Danny at the Lewis's," Mac told Stella, but she was already dialing, a step ahead of him again.

Phoenix

He could hear Michael screaming downstairs. Glass broke. Adam tensed. Don't make him mad. Just go downstairs, don't do anything... And then part of him blinked, the skies rolled back, and Adam realized he couldn't just lay down anymore. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he went downstairs.

His mother was crying. His father was yelling. "Leave her alone!" Adam yelled, forcing his father to turn back to him. "You little punk!" Michael roared. "Don't you dare tell me what to do!"

"I just did," Adam said, his voice a bit shaky. Even he couldn't believe he'd actually said something! "Leave her alone."

The drive was taking too long. Adam tapped his thumbs on the back of Danny's seat as they drove at breakneck speed through the city. We have to get there. We have to get there in time.

He caught Danny's eye in the rearview mirror. "Don' worry," Danny told him. "Lindsay's meeting us there. He's not going anywhere."

A cell phone rang. It took Danny a moment to realize it was his own. He picked it up. "Yeah, Messer...Montana...You gotta be freakin' kiddin' me." He hung up. "Flack, there's nobody at the house."

Adam's heart skipped eight beats. He was amazed it didn't stop altogether.

We can't be too late...not again.