An hour later we were in the foyer of the mansion and Mrs. Hannigan had gone upstairs to let Lois know we were there and we needed to see her. It was hard waiting knowing what was there in the back of my mind and knowing that if it was there, it was probably being thought by the guys as well.

Mrs. Hannigan came down the stairs. "Miss Lois will see you in the sunroom in a few moments."

Ranger nodded and we followed the housekeeper into the sunroom.

"Would you like tea or coffee," she asked politely.

"No thank you," Ranger said and I just shook my head.

We sat for a while before Lois finally joined us. She was wearing white and looked even more pale and fragile than ever. My heart broke a little more as she graciously lowered herself into her chair.

"I must say I expected to see you back sooner," she said softly.

"You did," I blinked.

"Of course," she nodded. "You've learned about Andrew of course."

"Yes ma'am," I said miserably.

"Dear girl, you mustn't beat yourself up about this. All secrets come out eventually. I hid this one longer than I thought I could," she shrugged.

"Does the Judge know," Ranger said quietly.

"That rather depends on what you mean," she said with a slight smile. "Of course he knows that Andrew isn't his son. He's not a complete imbecile. He just assumed that I'd been indiscreet. Fenton knew a man who worked at the courthouse and he simply changed the date on our marriage certificate. It was no fuss and no muss. Of course, Andrew was still a bit…early, but after Brian came along at nine pounds and one ounce, everyone did believe that Andrew was premature. But even if they hadn't, we've been married for a long time and no one can now say it was because of necessity."

"We can't find a record of your divorce from George Harding."

"That's because there isn't one," she said serenely. "There wasn't actually a legal marriage either unless we're in the Grand Caymans. So I didn't commit bigamy. I know that you must have been worried about that dear," she said softly.

"I was," I sighed in relief.

"Does Andrew know," Ranger asked.

"He found out quite by accident when he turned sixteen and wanted a driver license. I had to explain the whole thing then about how his mother was just a young girl and couldn't take care of him."

"Lois…"

"Yes dear," she raised a brow.

"You know that Andrew's mother is…"

"I'm Andrew's mother," she said and sat up straighter.

"Lois," I sighed. "Beverly is Andrew's mother."

Lois turned ashen. "No…she isn't."

"She is," I said softly and reached for her hand.

She jerked her hand away. "That's impossible."

I glanced over at Ranger in confusion. Neither of the women knew… How could that be?

"Then…how did you get Andrew?"

"George brought him home and gave him to me. He was a lawyer and he did the paperwork. I've had him since he was two days old."

"And what happened with you and George?"

"George…I found out he was cheating on me…"

"And you didn't know who with," I asked.

"I knew it was his secretary at Cattleman Oil. Of course George had left Cattleman Oil some time the year before and was working out of the house. But when I found out he was…I left him. I took Andrew and I left him."

"And you never met his secretary," Ranger asked.

"No…I spoke to her on the phone a few times of course," she shook her head.

"Beverly Linton was his secretary," I said gently.

I saw Lois' blood begin to boil. "She…she…" She leapt to her feet and ran upstairs.

"She didn't know," Ranger raised his brow to me.

"She didn't know," I sighed. "What are we going to do?"

I heard Beverly's voice in the hall talking to Mrs. Hannigan. And then I heard a screeching sound.

"What the hell," I blinked.

Ranger ran out of the room ahead of me. "Lois…put the gun down."

"I won't. She stole my first husband and bore his bastard child. I was stuck with him…I was stuck with him you bitch," she lowered the gun and fired off a shot. She missed Beverly, but splintered the front door.

Mrs. Hannigan ran squealing down the hall, and I heard doors opening and closing and footsteps coming from everywhere.

"You've humiliated me for the last time you whore," Lois screeched. She fired off another shot and blew a hole in the lead glass window on the left side of the door.

"Mother," Brian yelled from the stairs.

"Stay out of the way Baby," Lois said sweetly not even glancing back at her son. "Mommy has work to do."

"Oh shit," I groaned, "she's gone…she's way gone." I glanced up at Brian and saw the shock on his face. He was staring at his mother as though she was a stranger.

"When you and Fenton started…doing it," she blurted and fired off another shot, "I was angry, but since it kept him out of my bed for the most part…I just let it go."

"For the most part," Beverly glared at her. "According to Fenton he hasn't been in your bed in 32 years."

"Well Fenton is a liar. He was in my bed last night. You think you have the market cornered on screwing my husband," she fired another shot at her.

"That's it," Beverly growled and reached for her purse. She pulled a small handgun out of her purse and fired at Lois. She missed her and got the banister instead.

"Get down Brian," I screamed.

He ducked behind a bookcase.

Fenton appeared at the door to the study growling like a bear. "What in the hell is going on here?"

"You've been screwing your wife? You big liar," Beverly aimed at him.

"Beverly…this isn't a good idea," Ranger said cautiously.

"After I raised your son," Lois growled.

"You raised my son," Beverly said blankly and her gun hit the floor.

"And if you think it was easy you're insane. He's a mean child. He was a mean child from the moment George brought him home."

"George," Fenton's eyes widened.

"Hamilton Pryor," Beverly hissed. "Your wife's first husband was Hamilton Pryor."

Fenton paled and sagged against the door jam.

"Bitch," Lois screamed and fired a shot at Beverly again.

"Stop it," Andrew yelled as he burst into the room, "Stop it both of you. Do you have any idea how hard this has been? She raised me," she pointed to Lois, "she gave birth to me. I've been stuck in the middle in this house raised by two mothers…and you," he hissed at the Judge, "treated both of them like whores. Just like he did," he spat and raised a gun and pointed it at the judge.

"Don't do it Andrew," Brian said from the stairs.

"Oh the good son chimes in," Andrew laughed and the humor never touched his eyes. "Her precious good boy," he waved the gun toward Lois. "She never let me forget how special you were, how important and beautiful you were. Not like me," he shook his head. "I killed him for you Mother."

Lois hissed, "be quiet Andrew.'

"I did what you said and I killed him. I would have killed her too," he jerked his head in my direction with a snarl, "but there was always someone there to save her," he howled. He turned the gun on me, "not like now though right Stephanie," he started toward me with his gun trained on Ranger. "Right now…there's nothing in the way of my bullet. Nothing can keep me from killing you. Then our precious baby Brian will get back on track and the Goodman family name will survive whatever happens when he makes it to the Supreme Court."

"Shut up," Lois screamed. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"Or what mother," he turned on her, "you'll have someone kill me too?"

"You stole him from me and turned him into this," Beverly snarled. "This is what you did with my baby?"

"Shut up bitch. You've done nothing but take from my mother all your life."

"Don't be stupid Andrew," she hissed.

And he shot her. He just shot her. "Now you're both dead," he spat on her lifeless body. "Both of you who gave me away without thought…are dead." He whirled back pointing the gun first at Ranger who had almost reached him. "Back away…"

"Be reasonable Andrew…you won't be able to get out of this one," he said quietly.

"Was this your whole plan mother," Andrew waved the gun with tear-filled eyes at Lois. "First you'd have me kill Hamilton for threatening to spill the beans, then you rile me by allowing your good son to bring these outsiders in to find out I killed him and then…what? Am I supposed to be killed when the police show up so I can never tell anyone how we planned this together and…"

"Shut up," Lois screamed and fired. This time she hit her target, but not before Andrew fired off a shot of his own. The bullet went straight into Lois' heart. She died instantly. Andrew wasn't quite as lucky. He gurgled with Ranger over him trying to stop the flow of blood from his throat. In the end, there was nothing he or anyone else could do.

The Judge slumped to the floor and Brian ran for his father. He reached into his father's coat and pressed a pill into his mouth.

"Are the police coming," he said turning back to me.

I just nodded. I couldn't say anything else. The mansion's foyer was a battlefield. And there were three…maybe four bodies to show for it. I sank down the wall and just sat on the floor. Ranger was helping Brian with the Judge. Lois was lying on the stairs. Both Andrew and Beverly were face up on the floor staring glassy eyed and sightlessly at the ceiling.

All I could think was that I had seen dead bodies before. Why did these bother me so much more than ever before?

The police arrived and the place was filled with bustle as the Judge was loaded onto a gurney and he and Brian left for the hospital. The ME moved from body to body declaring each of them dead and I didn't move. Ranger was talking to Walker O'Malley. He was explaining everything to him and I could see he was clearly shocked.

The Goodman name wouldn't be associated with a wonderful trial judge, or a hostess who gave the most splendid parties in all of Boston, or even of a highly decorated FBI agent who'd solved more cases than anyone else his own age. Unfortunately it would be only associated with this blood bath. There was no way to avoid it. I ached for Brian and Christian.

Christian could stay in Paris and pretend that it never happened, but this would follow Brian his whole career. Nothing would stop that…nothing would ever stop that.

A female officer squatted beside me and took my statement. She gave me her card and asked that I come to the station the following day and give it to them formally. I nodded. I could do little else.

Ranger finally walked over and pulled me to my feet and took my hands in his blood soaked ones and sighed, "I'm sorry Babe…I know this isn't how you wanted things to end."

"No…it isn't," I said softly.

"He won't hate you forever," he said quietly.

"It doesn't matter," I said tiredly. "He's going to have too much to deal with without worrying about me."

"You're not that easy to get over Babe," he said walking me to the SUV with bullet holes in the side of it.

"They couldn't hit each other and yet…" I waved at the SUV and started to laugh and I didn't stop laughing until his mouth closed on mine and stayed on mine.

He finally lifted his head, "better."

I nodded.

He put me into the SUV and buckled me in and got into the driver's seat and we drove away. We drove toward our safe house. But we weren't going home. At least we weren't going home yet.